Accel World: Arrival of the Red Hero
by Maverino
Summary: Lan receives a strange program from Kuroyukihime called Brain Burst one day. He awakens his mysterious duel avatar Red Hero and faces challenges that the Accelerated World and the real world has never seen before. With Kuroyukihime, he will continue to fight in both realities. But will his will to fight be enough to defeat a new foe who poses a threat to both worlds?
1. Chapter 1 - Acquisition

(Before reading, there are some things I should add. This story also has similar events to the LN/anime as well as the MMZ games, so expect similar dialogue in familiar parts. It also has references to events from AW, SAO, and the Megaman Zero series. Also, Lan is an OC even though his name originates from the MMBN series. Be warned, his duel avatar is pretty... overpowered. Don't worry, he won't be the only overpowered character. Thanks and enjoy my story.)

I woke up from a long dream and rubbed my eyes. I sighed and took a glance at the time. It was 6:04 AM. I woke up a few minutes late, but whatever. I was always on time to school no matter how long I slept, to an extent of course. I went to the bathroom and cleaned myself up to get ready for school. I stared at the bathroom mirror while brushing my teeth. I had dark brown hair that wasn't very long. The front barely touched my eyes. My eyes were a piercing green. A green that no one else around had. Well, at least they weren't red. On my neck, there was a Neuro Linker, a device that everyone wore in this day and age. A Neuro Linker gave you your own personal HUD with programs and windows to open. It was easily one of the most useful inventions ever created. Mine was a black Neuro Linker with red ends.

After cleaning up, I put on the school uniform for boys at Umesato Junior High. It was a white dress shirt with a green tie, indicating that I was a first year. I also wore a light blue overcoat and light blue blue dress pants. I ate my breakfast of toast and milk and put on my black dress shoes and walked out the door. My parents were still asleep and I didn't need lunch money today. They used to leave notes for me, but ever since I entered junior high, they stopped. I didn't really mind, since they didn't leave anything important most of the time.

I walked on the side of the street where most of the other kids were. I wasn't really popular, but a lot of people knew who I was. I was easy to recognize because of my green eyes. I wasn't hated for it, I was just easily recognizable. Even being in the middle of the year, I didn't make that many friends. All of my old friends from elementary school were gone. They either moved to different schools, or just faded away in this school. It was unfortunate.

I sighed and someone behind me asked me, "Are you doing alright, Lan-kun?"

I turned and found a friend, Kuroyukihime. Well, she was more a friend than anyone else. She was beautiful, with long black hair and brown eyes that had a tinge of scarlet in them. She was a year above me, indicated by her blue ribbon that she wore on her uniform, which was a darker shade of blue compared to mostly everyone else. She approached me a few weeks ago when I dodged a dodgeball in gym class with amazing reaction time. Maybe she was only fond of my abilities, rather than myself, which is why I never really tried to talk to her.

"Yes, perfectly fine. I'm just tired," I replied.

"I hope you aren't too tired for school today," she said.

"It usually passes after the first class."

"Oh? Most students pass out during the first class," she said with a smile.

We made small talk while walking to the school. Talking about our favorite things and recent events. I kind of enjoyed having her around because it made time go faster. She also had something about her that made people smile.

As we entered the school, we went separate ways, as she was a second year student and I was only a first year. We had different classes to go to and different people to hang out with. Well, she did, since she was the school's student council vice-president. I then wondered why she was really cheerful today. It wasn't a bad thing, she was just more cheerful than usual. I stepped into my first class and continued to think about it for a little longer.

Lunch-time was probably the only time I saw Kuroyukihime during school alone. Well, as close to being alone as possible. She was surrounded by upperclassmen, but she usually sat alone, wandering on her Neuro Linker (which was black with purple ends) or eating slowly in a trance. Ever since we met, I had always debated on going over to that section of the lunchroom and sitting and talking with her, but I convinced myself that she only liked me for that lucky dodge. However, I always sat alone and laughed with the people who laughed at me. Perhaps I should go sit by her today...

I got up and made my way over to the section of the lunch area where almost all the upperclassmen hung out at. I almost made it before someone was shoved into me. I fell and he landed on me.

"You lying thief!" cried the student who shoved the other one into me.

"I'm not lying and I am certainly not a thief!" shouted the student who was on top of me.

"Guys..." I called out weakly.

"It's none of your business, Lan-kun!"

"N-No, I'm just suffocating down here."

The person on top of me got off of me and the two began shouting at each other again. I don't know what they were fighting over, but it was probably something stupid.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"He stole my homework files!" cried the student who shoved the one into me. He had black hair and pale blue eyes. He was a first year, like myself. He was also a tad bit smaller than me, and I wasn't that tall myself.

"I did not!" shouted the other student. He had light brown hair and brown eyes. He was slightly taller than me and looked a lot more athletic. He was actually being pushed around by a smaller guy?

The smaller student grabbed an apple and angrily threw it at the other student. I stepped in and caught it with one hand. A teacher was called in and pulled both the kids out. I sighed in relief and turned around to go to where Kuroyukihime was sitting. I was surprised to see her standing directly behind me.

"Nice catch," she said.

"Uhm, thanks. It was nothing, really," I said modestly.

"Come here," she said, gesturing me to follow her.

I did so and followed her to the table she always sat at by herself. The other upperclassmen were looking at me weirdly. Did I look like her... love interest?

"Here, put this in," Kuroyukihime said, handing me a cable. I was very confused, but put it in anyway. Now I definitely looked like her love interest.

With this cable connecting two people's Neuro Linkers, they had the ability to talk to each other without actually moving their lips. Mostly couples did this, but people who weren't couples also did it to exchange information without anyone else hearing. What did Kuroyukihime want with me?

"Lan-kun, are you aware of the fact that your reaction time is impeccable? I have yet to see anyone else in this school, or even in this city, have that kind of reaction speed," Kuroyukihime said.

"It's no big deal. I'm not even that good at sports," I said.

"Would you like to be good at something that required that kind of skill?"

"Uhm, sure. Why not?"

"I'm going to send you a program. I hope you can install it successfully," she said.

"Successfully?"

She quickly tapped the air and moved her hand in a fashion where she was sending me something. My Neuro Linker caught it and a window opened up on my HUD. _Would you like to install BB2039?_ Was this some kind of game? Kuroyukihime didn't seem like the kind of person to play games. Especially today's virtual reality games. She didn't seem like she had the time for them, since she was a student council vice-president. I hit yes, and the window burned away. It was replaced with the logo of the game, Brain Burst. Under it was a small installation bar.

"It took me two full minutes to decide on whether or not I should install Brain Burst. I'm surprised you accepted it without much hesitation."

"I didn't know you played games," I said.

"It isn't just an ordinary game," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

The installation was completed and the logo disappeared. It was replaced with a new message, _Welcome to the Accelerated World!_

"Accelerated... World?"

"I knew you would be able to do it," Kuroyukihime said with a small smile.

"What exactly is this?" I asked.

"Say the command 'Burst Link' with me."

"Burst Link!"

In an instant, I was pulled out of my own body into a somewhat different world. The world around me was now tinged blue. I looked at my hands and found that I was using my avatar for exploring the school's net. It was an all blue character. It resembled Mega Man, a character from the early twenty-first century who had his own line of video games. I looked around for Kuroyukihime and found her standing next to me in her own avatar as well, who was just as beautiful as she was. She had a long black dress on and large black and purple wings with white shoes that resembled butterflies. She herself looked like a butterfly.

"This is the Accelerated World?" I asked.

"Yes, it is." Kuroyukihime said, "We use this program, Brain Burst, to accelerate and assess certain situations. For example, if you accelerated before that student fell on you, you probably would have avoided it."

"So it's like a time freezer?"

"Yes and no. Time is not frozen here, instead, we're moving one thousand times faster than the real world. One second in the real world is 16 minutes and 40 seconds in here."

I see. So how could I use this to my advantage? Kuroyukihime asked me if I wanted to be good at something with my reaction speed. How is this relevant at all? It's not a game, it's more like a real-life hack.

"I'm glad you are able to accelerate. We're done for today; I'll show you more tomorrow." Kuroyukihime said, "Burst Out!"

"Burst Out!" I said.

And just like that, not even a second had passed. It was amazing, to spend 16 minutes in that world and come out to the real world to find that only one second passed!

"Don't connect to the global network yet. Not until tomorrow," she warned me.

"Alright. Thank you for the program, Kuroyukihime."

"You're very welcome, Lan-kun."

She smiled at me and I smiled back. The students around us were looking at us like we were crazy. A girl came over and whispered to Kuroyukihime.

"Well? Who is this guy? We've all been dying to know, Kuroyukihime-senpai!" she whispered. She wasn't whispering well enough if I could hear her.

"H-He's just a friend," Kuroyukihime replied with a blush.

"A friend, you say? Yet you two cable?"

My face grew hot as I realized what this girl was implying. Me and Kuroyukihime? Together as a couple? I tossed that around in my head for a few moments until more people started to crowd around us.

"I think I'll take my leave now!" I said, shoving people out of my way.

I made it out of the upperclassmen area and went to class, still thinking about the possibilities of Kuroyukihime being with me.


	2. Chapter 2 - Reconfiguration

The last bell rung and I left the room in a hurry. I was ready to go home after a long day and just take the biggest nap ever. I was extremely tired after that last math lesson. Upon leaving the school, I made sure not to connect to the global network, just like Kuroyukihime told me to do. Before leaving, I heard someone calling my name. It was Kuroyukihime, walking briskly towards me.

"I'm sorry about what happened at lunch today," she said.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," I said.

"That's good. Let's walk home together," she said. It wasn't a question.

Students saw us walking out together and had bewildered faces on. My face felt hot as I walked with Kuroyukihime.

"Hey, Lan-kun?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"We don't know each other very well, yet you don't add a 'senpai' to my name. Why is that?"

"Does it bother you?" I asked, worried.

"No, not at all. I'm just a little curious."

"I think of every student as an equal. Older people might have a problem with it, but younger ones tend not to care whether or not I add formality," I explained.

"I see."

We arrived at my house and I said farewell to Kuroyukihime. It was a small house, but it was big enough for me. I was usually alone, since my parents worked during this time. I hardly ever spend time with them anymore, but it wasn't a big deal to me. I preferred being alone. I entered my room and jumped into bed. I was very tired. But I didn't fall asleep instantly. I thought about what happened today. Would I be hated for supposedly trying to 'get with' Kuroyukihime? As I thought this, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

I had a horrific dream. There were people everywhere. They were all getting killed by who knows what. Some of them were faceless, others had faces. They were the faces of my old friends. One face remained and it was Kuroyukihime. I'll protect you. I want our bond to stay alive. Don't go!

_Protecting bonds. That's what I wanted, of all things. I wanted my friends to remain friends. I also wanted their bonds to stay safe, because if you didn't have any friends to go to, you would suffer all alone. I want to protect everyone that I love. _

_A hero, huh? What's in a hero?_

And with that, Kuroyukihime was killed with a flash of light.

I woke up with a start, panting heavily. I looked at the time and saw that it was 5:57 AM. I woke up early today. What a horrible dream... I did my usual thing and left the house, not finding a note once again. Kuroyukihime said I could connect to the global network today, so I did. Right as I stepped out of my house, the world turned blue. What just happened?

The world around me disappeared and reconfigured itself. My body was being transformed into a different being as well. The only thing I noticed was that there was red. I reappeared in a grassy field, extending for miles, it seemed. Kuroyukihime appeared in front of me as her school avatar. A large 'FIGHT' logo appeared on my HUD. On the top left of my HUD, I saw what seemed to be my HP gauge and the right, was Kuroyukihime's HP gauge. Below our HP gauges were our new names, I guess. Me being 'Red Hero' and Kuroyukihime being 'Black Lotus'. In the middle, there was a timer going down. Was I in the Accelerated World? Was it some sort of game?

"Oh, it's the Twilight stage. How rare." Kuroyukihime said, "Anyway, hello Lan-kun. It seems you didn't heed my warning. No worries, I'm not here to duel you. I'm here to teach you the basics."

"Uhh... Okay," I said, confused.

Kuroyukihime was about to say something, but got distracted by something in my direction. Maybe it was me?

"Your avatar is very interesting," Kuroyukihime said.

"My avatar?" I asked.

"Yes. It looks almost human. Every other avatar looks like a machine, but yours... Is very human. Yours has a face. I assume that your vision hasn't changed at all?"

"No, it hasn't. Was it supposed to?"

"In an average avatar, you're supposed to be in an enclosed helmet. I've seen avatars with faces on them, but yours looks the most realistic. Interesting."

I glanced at my hands and saw them as black with white fingertips. I had red armlets with gold wrist guards. The rest of my arms were black and I had a red vest on. It looked like a vest, but felt very much like armor. My legs were also black, but my "boots" were red with gold, just like my armlets. I also noticed my... _long gold hair?!_ Why did I have long hair?

"What exactly am I?" I asked.

"I'm not sure myself. Your name indicates that you are the 'Red Hero'. You're very colorful, though. Mostly red, but black and gold as well. And you have a bright blue triangular gem on your head. Your 'helmet' looks very intricate. I've never seen anything like it," Kuroyukihime observed. She walked towards me with interest in her eyes.

She quietly observed me with her large brown eyes, looking at every detail. She touched the gem on my forehead and then went to my hair.

"Your hair feels very realistic."

"Thanks, I guess... Are you done touching me?" I asked with a chuckle.

"Sorry, I was distracted!" she said apologetically.

Kuroyukihime started teaching me the lessons of the fighting game, Brain Burst. The goal was to dwindle the enemy's HP down to zero, or to be less than yours at the end of the time limit. Our duel avatars were assigned colors to indicate our strengths and weaknesses. Since I was red, I specialized in long range attacks. However, I did not find any long range weapons on me. We also had certain moves and special moves we could execute. With me being level 1, I had little moves to use. It was just a simple punch and kick... and slash.

"I can slash," I said.

"Interesting. Can you try to find a weapon on yourself?" Kuroyukihime asked.

I looked around my body for something to use and found a small white sheath-like object on my left hip and touched it with my hand. Something popped out and I grabbed it. It looked like a sword handle. I gripped it firmly and a beam of green, solid light was emitted from the handle. I had a laser sword as a weapon. I waved it around and slashed the grass. It made a _zwung zwung _sound as it moved through the air.

"I like it," I said.

"Strange how you don't have a gun of some sorts. It's fine if you're more comfortable with a blade..." she murmured.

Kuroyukihime trained me for a bit, until I got the hang of controlling my duel avatar and executing basic maneuvers. I felt like I could start fighting now!

"You think we can duel for real?" I asked.

"You're already becoming a Burst Linker!" she laughed.

"You think so?" I chuckled along.

"Of course. Now, when you exit, there is a chance that you might be challenged to another duel that's not from me. If you do, I want you to fight your hardest. Got that?"

"Yes, senpai!" I jokingly said.

She smiled in amusement as a reply. Soon, the time limit was reached and then I was forced back to the real world. Before I could move another step forward, my world turned blue again. I wished it wasn't so soon...

(Yes, Red Hero is practically Zero from the MMZ series.)


	3. Chapter 3 - Confrontation

(The first fight scene! It's a bit short, in my opinion. I really liked writing this scene, though!)

The world disappeared around me and my body was transforming. The world came back and I was in an urban area. Mostly everything was destroyed and rubble. I looked at the top of my HUD and saw my opponent's name, Magenta Disc. I looked for this Magenta Disc and found him or her standing in front of me. He or she had a slender body, and was a pinkish red, as implied by the name. He or she had a gun in their hand, pointed directly at my head. The large 'FIGHT' message appeared and burned away. My opponent shot and I dodged the bullet with enough time to pull out my blade and lunge at them. I slashed thin air, as my opponent jumped right as I moved forward.

_This guy's fast!_

I looked up and noticed that my opponent looked slightly confused, since I was using a close quarters weapon while being red. I had no time to explain, as more bullets started flying towards me. I jumped back and barely dodged the rain of bullets. The enemy switched from a pistol to an assault rifle and started shooting more bullets. I ran as fast as I could, trying to avoid all the bullets. One hit me in the leg and I tripped, thus causing more bullets to shower into me. I felt an immense amount of pain all over my body. It looks like this game imitated pain better than other VR games.

As the enemy started to reload, I got up and charged them with all my might. I landed a punch to the stomach. The enemy was shocked at how I was able to lunge at them with such speed. I immediately slashed them as much as I could with my laser sword. Their HP gauge went down drastically as I slashed them repeatedly and a second bar went up! What was it? As if reading my mind, my opponent glowed and blinded me. When the light disappeared, I saw them turn into a cannon. Perhaps this second gauge was a special move gauge, if I remember how fighting games worked. And this person's special move was turning into a cannon? What was mine?

I moved around quickly, trying to dodge all the explosives being shot at me. One hit me directly and I lost a lot my health. I was stunned for a few seconds before getting up again. I opened up the menu and looked at my move list My special attack was a "Charged Shot". What that meant, I didn't know. I didn't have some sort of energy cannon with me. Maybe I could charge up my sword...? But how?

"Charged Shot!" I cried. I began to glow very faintly as I ran towards the enemy with my sword.

"That's a dumb special move," my opponent said in a manly tone. So my opponent was a male player. Yet their avatar was very slender and woman-like.

I let go of all the power I mustered and focused it all onto my sword. I slashed down on my enemy and smashed the ground. A small yet powerful and visible shock wave appeared after unleashing my power and finished off my enemy, Magenta Disc. He disappeared and a results screen popped up. 'You win!' it said. I also gained 10 BP after winning the fight. I wondered what that was. Cash, maybe? Before I could do anything else, I was flashed back into the real world.

"Wow," I said to myself.

I won my first Brain Burst duel. I couldn't wait to tell Kuroyukihime! I ran as fast as I could to the school, full of excitement.

I found Kuroyukihime in her lunch area before school began. There wasn't any other person there, either. I don't know why, but I had a feeling she'd be here. I sighed and calmed down. I walked casually to where she was sitting and sat down quietly in the chair opposite of her.

"Kuroyukihime, I have something to tell you."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I won my first duel today!" I said very cheerfully.

"I know, I was watching," she said with an amused smile.

"Wait, what?" I asked, bewildered.

"People can spectate if they want to and if they're on the same network."

"Oh, I see..."

Kuroyukihime then gave me tips on what to do for my next battle against a ranged opponent. I took quick notes in my mind and nodded, carefully paying attention to what she was saying.

"Also, Kuroyukihime, what is a BP?" I asked.

"It's short for 'Burst Points'. They indicate how many times you can enter the Accelerated World. Once you run out, Brain Burst automatically uninstalls itself and you can never install it again."

I sat there shocked. My happiness quickly changed into a serious shock.

"Really?" I couldn't believe it. I was ready for Kuroyukihime to laugh at me for thinking she was being serious.

"Yes. I've eliminated people permanently from Brain Burst before..." her voice trailed off. Her eyes indicated that she was remembering something.

"Is something the matter?" I asked.

"No, it's nothing."

"Alright then. Anyway, what do I exactly do with this power of acceleration?" I asked.

"Anything you want. No cheating on tests or becoming a sports hero, though. As your _parent_, I forbid you to do so."

"My _parent?_" I asked.

"A _parent_ is someone who gives a person the Brain Burst application. The person who received it is called a _child_."

"Wow, that's interesting," I said.

"Sure is. A parent-child bond is different compared to a normal bond in the Accelerated World. Do you know why?" Kuroyukihime asked.

"Uhm... I'm not sure. Is it because in a parent-child bond, the two people know the identities of the other?"

"Correct! That's why it is important to keep your parent-child bond."

"I won't let this bond become severed. I'll always be your friend, Kuroyukihime," I said with a sudden confidence.

Kuroyukihime stared at me with surprise in her eyes. She also had something else, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Admiration, maybe?

"I'd like to show you something in the Accelerated World," she said.

"Okay."

We accelerated and once again appeared in the blue cafeteria.

"Look to the left of your HUD and find the matchmaking option."

I did as I was told and pressed it.

"Do you see the matching list?"

"Yes. There's Red Hero, Black Lotus, and Olive Driver. Who's Olive Driver?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. But he's been hunting me for a few weeks now. I don't want you to challenge him. Rather, just keep your guard up. I'm sure he won't prey on a level 1 Burst Linker."

"Alright. Thanks for the heads-up," I said graciously.

Right as we exited the Accelerated World, the school bell rung and surprised me. I hadn't realized I was here for that long. I quickly said farewell to Kuroyukihime and left. She waved goodbye and went back to her usual tapping. I wondered why she didn't rush to her first class. I shrugged it off and barely made it to my first class on time. I sighed and sat down quickly.

"Hey, Lan-kun, I heard you were going out with Kuroyukihime-senpai," said the male student sitting behind me.

"Uhm, actually, we're just friends-"

"That's nonsense! It's okay to like girls. It's this time of your life where they start getting pretty."

"I don't think I'd go for a girl just for their looks," I said.

"Whatever. If you don't want Kuroyukihime-senpai, I'll take her for myself."

"Don't get in the way," I said suddenly.

"In the way of what?"

And before I could answer, our teacher came in and instructed us to take notes. Today's lesson was going to be a long one.


	4. Chapter 4 - Competition

(Oh boy, another fight! Too much fighting, maybe?)

It was lunchtime and I sat with Kuroyukihime this time. We talked about various things, but mostly about the Accelerated World. I had questions and she had answers. I even got to know her personal life, like her relationship with her friend that she's known for a long time, Megumi. She was the one who asked her who I was yesterday. I told her about myself as well, and she seemed interested. I wasn't very interesting, to be honest. My past was like any other child's. Kuroyukihime didn't like talking about her past, though. She said she had a lot of painful memories and just kept it at that.

"Lan-kun, what're you doing here?" asked a voice, interrupting us. It was the student who sat behind me in my first class.

"I always sit here with Kuroyukihime," I said calmly. Actually, I only started hanging out with her today.

"Well, she's not going to sit with you any longer. She's going to be my date for the upcoming school dance!" he said.

"What?" I asked, bewildered.

"I didn't agree to this," Kuroyukihime said coldly.

"You will when I defeat you in a fight!" he proclaimed.

Kuroyukihime and I were confused. Was this student really going to beat up another student while in the view of multiple social cameras? He wouldn't be that rash, would he?

"Burst Link," I muttered.

I returned to the familiar blue cafeteria yet again and opened up the matchmaking menu for Brain Burst. Again, the three names appeared. Perhaps this student was Olive Driver? Since he said he was going to 'fight' Kuroyukihime, he probably meant here, in the Accelerated World. But why would he do that? Why not just ask her out the normal way? Was fighting someone in the Accelerated World worth more than what I had thought?

Olive... it was a shade of green, if I recalled correctly. During my short training session with Kuroyukihime, she showed me the basic color wheel for duel avatars. Green specialized in defense, so this battle would be a little tough. I hit his name and requested a duel. The world reconfigured itself to a rocky stage; lava flowed from the walls and the ground had gaps full of lava. A volcano setting, huh? My opponent appeared in front of me and struck his shield into the ground. My opponent, Olive Driver, had an enormous pale green shield. It was hard to see his features from this angle, as his shield was nearly the size of his avatar! All I could see was his round helmet with two slits for eyes. The message to fight appeared and I readied myself.

"Red Hero? Who are you?" he asked.

"The one protecting Kuroyukihime," I said gallantly.

I pulled out my laser sword and ran as fast as I could at him. He was shocked; perhaps he was prepared for me to pull out a ranged weapon or something, since I was red. I slashed his shield and barely scratched it. He pulled it out of the ground and smashed me with it. I was sent flying and lost about 10% of my HP gauge.

_That shield is unbreakable!_ I thought. What can I do if he's just going to block all of my attacks? I figured I might as well charge up my special attack gauge by striking his shield a few more times and then figure out how to defeat him. After attacking his shield multiple times without doing much to his HP bar, he quickly moved and punched me with a large amount of force. I was sent flying into the wall and falling into some lava. Such power! I swam out of the lava and gasped for air. I had already lost 50% of my health while my opponent had almost all his health still.

"You can't break my shield no matter how hard you try!" he proclaimed loudly.

I ran at him again, this time, jumping over his head. He quickly faced me with his shield. I couldn't hit him from behind, no matter how fast I was. Despite his giant shield, my opponent had incredible speed. If I couldn't move behind him, what could I do? I didn't have any other weapon on me. If this sword was all I had, how could I penetrate his shield?

"Give up already?" Olive Driver sneered.

"Never!" I said.

I stared at my laser sword and wondered if this was the only weapon I could use. I had previously checked my body over for other armaments, but found none. I specialized in ranged attacks, though. Maybe this sword could be able to change into other weapons? A gun wouldn't be useful here. Maybe a boomerang? Those were pretty popular years ago, I was surprised I knew about its existence. I gripped my sword and tried to force it to become some sort of boomerang type of weapon.

_Please! Anything that I could shoot or throw!_

My sword responded by vibrating. It vibrated so much that it hurt and I had to let go of it. My sword began to spin extremely fast and attached itself to my right arm. It created a kind of shield.

"So your sword can spin around really fast? So what? If you think that will help you, you're dead wrong!" Olive Driver cried. He threw his giant shield at me and I was struck by it by surprise. It penetrated my chest and stuck me to the wall. An immense amount of pain appeared in my chest as I gasped for air. My health bar immediately dropped below 50% and I figured I was done for, since all he needed to do was to pound me until I was nothing but dust.

_Gotta do something with this shield..._

My body grew brighter as I charged up. If "Charged Shot" worked with my sword, it would surely work with my shield. I released the energy within my shield and threw it with all my might at Olive Driver. The shield hit him square in the torso and cut him in half. His HP bar dropped below 50% in an instant. His top half fell slowly as he screamed in pain. I removed his giant shield that was stuck in my chest and fell, weakly trying to get up. Before I could do anything else, my shield came back, cutting off Olive Driver's head. I was surprised at what happened. My sword turned into some sort of shield boomerang? It returned to my right arm and I changed it back into its original form. The winning message appeared as I sheathed my blade and then returned to the real world.

"I lost?" Olive Driver cried as I flashed back.

"You lost?" Kuroyukihime asked, confused. She turned to me with a puzzled face.

"Of course you lost. Now you don't get to take Kuroyukihime out," I said smugly.

Olive Driver glared at me and walked away in anger. He threw chairs around and screamed. Teachers came by to discipline him.

"So you dueled him before he could get to me..." Kuroyukihime observed.

"Yup!" I said with a smile.

"You idiot, I would've been able to take him on just fine," she said, shaking her head.

"Oh. Well... Sorry, I guess."

"It's perfectly fine. You need the experience."

The upperclassmen were confused as to what was happening. Kuroyukihime said that it wasn't a big deal and that they shouldn't worry about it. They quieted down, but remained suspicious.

"Well, I'll see you after school then, Kuroyukihime," I said.

"Yes, of course," she said while waving good-bye.

I left the lounge and went to my next class.

* * *

After school, I told Kuroyukihime the details of the duel. She was fascinated about my avatar having the ability to switch weapons. She said hers was able to change weapons too, but on a much smaller scale.

"You may be the most versatile duel avatar yet. You're red-colored, yet you can use an assortment of weapons. I wonder what kind of hidden potential your duel avatar is hiding. You should find out by fighting more Burst Linkers," Kuroyukihime said.

"I will. Thanks, Kuroyukihime. Hey, do you think I'll ever get to see your real avatar?" I asked.

"Perhaps. We'll see."

Kuroyukihime and I spent our after-school time in a nearby park. We walked and talked for a bit and sat down on a bench together. I don't know why, but I felt nervous sitting there. She was really close to me and I had never sat side-by-side with her at lunch. I've only sat facing her.

"Lan-kun, did you really try to protect me, or did you just want points to yourself?" Kuroyukihime asked all of a sudden.

"Uhm, well... I honestly wanted to protect you. I didn't even know he was a Burst Linker until he said he was going to fight you," I said nervously.

"Ahh, right. About that."

"About what? The fight?"

"No, the school dance. I was going to ask you to, erm..."

She looked really nervous. I had never seen her like that before.

"Are you saying you want me to go with you?" I asked.

"Y-Yes. I want you to come with me to the dance."

I looked at her for quite some time before giving her my answer. This girl who had became my friend and taught me the ways of acceleration was now asking me to be her date. Did she really like me in that sort of way? I didn't know if I liked her that way either, but I was always happy around her and she made my heart race sometimes.

"I'll go to the dance with you," I finally said.

She gave me a big smile and hugged me. I felt like I said the right thing and hugged her back. I've never felt any happier.

We remained sitting next to each other until the sun started setting. We decided it was getting late and parted ways. As I walked home, I couldn't stop thinking about Kuroyukihime. She was really pretty and I loved the way she smiled. I don't know, I've never felt this way about someone before. She was the first. I entered my house and found that nobody was home. I slipped out of my school uniform and into casual clothing before jumping into bed. I had homework to do, but I decided to do it later. I wondered if I should have a duel first before going to bed...

I decided against it and fell into a deep slumber.

(Yep, my OC is going to be paired with Kuroyukihime. I'm sorry if her character isn't very canon-like!)


	5. Chapter 5 - Confession

(A really romantic chapter, also learning about Kuroyukihime's history. If I have any incorrect and/or inaccurate information, please let me know! It also doesn't end in -tion, oh no! Nah, just kidding.)

_Two weeks later_

The night of the dance came and I wore my best clothes. A black tuxedo with a black tie and black dress pants. Kuroyukihime was the kind of person who like black clothing, I think. My parents congratulated me on getting my first date. I laughed nervously and said I was pretty happy about it. They wanted me to tell them all about Kuroyukihime. I told them that she was a beautiful girl with a smart personality and liked me for who I was. As I left the house, I began to wonder. Did Kuroyukihime truly like me for who I was? Or did she like Red Hero, the unique avatar? I thought about asking her as I walked to her house.

Kuroyukihime found me before I could find her. She wore a long black dress with thin shoulder straps. Her hair was all neatly brushed down and her amber eyes shined in the night. She was absolutely gorgeous. All I could do was stand there and gaze at her.

"Lan-kun? Are you okay?" she asked, blushing a little.

"Y-Yes, of course. It's just that... You're really beautiful, Kuroyukihime," I said nervously.

"T-Thank you, Lan-kun. You look quite fashionable yourself. You picked a good color to wear," she complimented.

"Thank you. Shall we go?"

She held her arm out and I put my arm in hers. We walked to the school together, chatting about various things. I told her I finally leveled up to level 2 and she seemed very impressed. She asked me what I spent my level-up bonus on and I told her that I spent it on a damage boost for close quarters combat. When I selected that, my sword changed shape. It went from a straight beam to a triangular blade. It was pretty cool!

Walking to the school felt like an eternity with Kuroyukihime by my side. I think we were both ready for a wonderful night. We finally made it to the school and entered. We were greeted by the student council and lots of cameras.

"Kuroyukihime-senpai! It is true! You and Lan-kun are dating!" her friend said.

"It looks like it is now," she said, blushing.

"Treat her nicely." Kuroyukihime's friend said to me, "Or else!"

"Of course. I'll do my best to keep her happy," I said back.

She glanced at me and whispered something to Kuroyukihime. They both giggled and looked at me. I was wondering if I did something wrong or if I messed up my outfit. Eventually, the crowd cleared and we went to the ballroom, which was the gymnasium. There were tables with white cloth draped over them full of party refreshments. There was a stage, where Kuroyukihime spoke to the school during assemblies, that had boxes on them.

"What're those boxes for?" I asked Kuroyukihime.

"Those are voting ballots. People get to pick who the 'king' and 'queen' of the dance. It's just like prom back in the day," she explained.

"I see. Do you think we'll get voted as king and queen?"

"I hope so!"

More people started to pile in as time went by. There were a lot of upperclassmen, as I didn't recognize many faces. Most of them were staring at me and Kuroyukihime, shocked that a first year such as myself would be a fitting date for Kuroyukihime. People soon began to forget about us, as songs started playing and people started dancing. Kuroyukihime got a hold of my arm and pulled me towards the dance floor.

"Kuroyukihime-"

"C'mon, Lan. Let's have some fun!" she said enthusiastically.

"B-But I can't dance..." I whispered.

"Just follow my lead," she said.

I wasn't sure what that meant. I heard that line many times in movies and anime, but I never did understand how the protagonist managed to follow his/her love interest's 'lead'. Oddly enough, I managed to do it myself. Kuroyukihime moved to the music and I just did what she did. She was a very impressive leader, both in dancing and in the Accelerated World. Finally, a slow dance song came on and I got really nervous. What if I step on her feet? What if I bump into another girl? Kuroyukihime put her arms around my neck and I put my hands at her waist. It felt really awkward for me. I've never touched a girl here before...

"You're doing great, Lan," Kuroyukihime whispered.

"Thanks. I'm doing my best..."

And before I knew it, the song was over and people slowly grew anxious. I wondered why until I saw the ballot boxes again. The student council was ready to name the king and queen. I waited eagerly with Kuroyukihime by my side. I was sure she was as eager as all of us.

The students counted the ballots and one student came up to the microphone. He told everyone to quiet down and started to speak.

"And this year's queen is... To nobody's surprise, Kuroyukihime-senpai!" he announced loud and clear.

"And to announce this year's king..." the student said with a moment of silence for suspense.

"This year's king is none other than Lan-kun himself!" he said finally.

I smiled and led Kuroyukihime up to the stage. She proudly accepted the queen's crown and I accepted the king's crown proudly as well. People began to clap and cheer for us. I was sure that they were clapping out of sheer respect. I don't think anyone here knew me other than Kuroyukihime and some of her friends. I turned to face Kuroyukihime and she hugged me.

"I'm the happiest with you," she said.

People aww'd in the crowd and my face grew hot. I wasn't sure what to say. So I said what was in my heart.

"I... I love you, Kuroyukihime."

She looked up at me and tears began to well up in her eyes. Her face grew red and then she frowned in frustration. I got extremely confused and was about to ask her what was wrong until she ran off the stage in a frenzy. Everyone in the crowd was as shocked as I was. Why did she run away? Was it really that embarrassing to fall in love with a person of lower status? Or was it something else completely? I decided to go after her to receive answers and to comfort her.

I ran out of the building and did a quick scan of the area. Unfortunately, I couldn't find her. Hoping that she was still on school grounds, I accelerated.

"Burst Link," I said.

I found her on the matching list and requested a duel with her. Thankfully, you couldn't reject a duel request. The world burned away and we were back in the Twilight stage. The stage where we first 'dueled'. She was there in front of me in her school avatar. It was strange, her avatar resembled what she actually looked like tonight.

"Why did you run away?" I asked.

"Because... Because I don't deserve you," she said.

"What do you mean? It's the other way around! I don't deserve you!"

"I've done horrible things in the past! You've done nothing. You're so nice, sincere... and innocent."

She did horrible things? I didn't want to believe her, but she looked like she was telling the truth. I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"The past is past. It's always fine to look back to it, but I don't think you should go on thinking that the past you is who you are," I said, trying to comfort her.

"You don't understand. I'm not a normal Burst Linker," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What do you mean?"

She sighed and I figured this was going to be a long tale. No matter what she said, though, nothing would change my mind.

"Six years ago, I was given the power of Brain Burst. I've only thirsted for power since then. I've slayed countless enemies to get to where I am today. Back then, there used to be Seven Kings of Pure Color. Red, White, Blue, Purple, Yellow, Green, and Black. They were all level 9 Burst Linkers. I was, if you can guess, the Black King. Two years ago, I slayed the Red King, who was my friend, as he was talking about peace between the Kings and their Legions. I fought like a wild animal, trying to kill the other Kings after slaying him. I failed and Linked Out after thirty minutes..."

"Why..?" I asked, nearly speechless.

"Because I valued being level 10 over friendship. The system message at level 9 told us that when you became level 10, you had the opportunity to meet the creator of Brain Burst and discover its true purpose."

"I see. And to become level 10, you had to slay a few level 9 Burst Linkers?"

"Five to be exact."

I stood speechless at Kuroyukihime's boldness. She sacrificed her bonds to become level 10. How could I trust her? If I ever became level 9 and succeeded a king, would Kuroyukihime and I become foes? No, I wouldn't allow that. Because I would be the one to keep our bond alive. It was truly selfish of me to do this.

"Do you hate me now, for doing such foolish things? I understand if you want to leave and never talk to me again," she bitterly said.

"No, I don't hate you. I admire your boldness and ambition. You're willing to sacrifice anything to reach your goal. However-"

I hugged Kuroyukihime before finishing my sentence.

"I won't allow you to destroy our bond to reach that level. I'd rather uninstall Brain Burst myself before letting that happen."

I felt Kuroyukihime tense up as I finished my sentence. I wasn't sure if what I said was the right thing. Was she going to leave and never talk to me again instead? What she said next stunned me.

"Do you really love me?" she asked quietly.

"Of course I do!" I said without hesitating, "I-I've never felt this way before. I thought you were just pretty cute before, but now... All I want to do is be with you and protect you,"

Even though we were in a virtual world, I felt her tears drop onto my shoulder. She moved her head back in front of mine and kissed me on the lips. I felt the warmth of her mouth and her lips. It was strange, to feel this sensation in a different world.

We then lied down in the grassy fields until the time ran out.

(There's more to her past that will be explained later. I haven't read any of the books after Vol. 4, but I know who KYH's _parent _is. She'll be making an appearance, but when? You'll see. She'll probably be a canon character that'll be the least canon-like in this fanfic.)


	6. Chapter 6 - Reconstruction

(It's months later because I wanted Lan to level up a few levels. Sorry, Aqua Current won't be showing up! But someone else will make an appearance! Just not in this chapter.)

_Months Later_

The start of the new school year started off well. I had a different colored tie now. It was blue, but a darker blue compared to my school uniform. Kuroyukihime's ribbon changed to a red color, indicating that she was a third-year now. We had spent a lot of time together, both in the real world and the Accelerated World. I was now level 5, advancing higher in the ranks. My weapon, my Hero Sword, functioned as my other weapons now. It was able to turn into my Hero Gun, my Hero Chain, and my Shield Boomerang. After spending my level-up bonuses on improving my close quarters combat, my Hero Sword changed shape. It used to be a straight laser, but now it was a triangular blade. I also gained a few abilities, such as 'air-dashing' and 'ground-dashing'. There were thrusters below my boots that allowed me to get a small burst of speed both in air and on the ground. With the help of my boosters, running up walls have never been easier. It wasn't really special, to be honest.

Kuroyukihime also returned to the Accelerated World after hiding for two years. She did it roughly after I leveled up to level 2. She got her old Legion back, Nega Nebulous. It was in a different area, however, and there were only two members. Me and herself. Kuroyukihime said that she wanted one person to come back for sure. I asked her who this person was and she said that this person was a close friend long ago. Something happened between the two and now their bond was broken. I shook my head and told Kuroyukihime that their bond wasn't broken, but rather just lost. I promised to help her find her friend. She smiled and hugged me that day, confident that we would find her friend.

At today's assembly, which was held at the beginning of every year, Kuroyukihime introduced herself and talked to the school about various things. I looked around and saw many new faces, most of them being first-years. There were a few second-years that weren't here last year. I would have to greet some of them later. Meeting Kuroyukihime has changed me. I've grown more confident of my abilities and I'm not so shy anymore.

After the assembly, we all moved to our first classes. My first class was full of second-year students, some of them being new faces. After going through the introductions, I think people were pretty focused on me. I was dating the school's student council principal, Kuroyukihime, and I was successful academically. I wasn't sure if they were giving me looks of respect, jealousy, or envy. As I walked towards my seat, I accelerated.

_A Burst Linker? Or is Kuroyukihime toying with me?_

I transformed into Red Hero as the school disappeared and was replaced by an icy field. Since my boots had a lot of traction, I didn't slip and slide that much on ice.

"Red Hero? That's your name?" asked my opponent.

I looked up at my HUD and saw my opponent's name: Blue Cloud.

"Looks like I'll counter your long-range tactics with my close quarters. Good luck, Hero-kun," he sneered.

I looked at him calmly and waited for him to execute his first attack. His avatar was very blue and was very bulky. He had a giant sword on his back, but it wasn't like mine. It looked more mechanical and sharp. He drew his sword and ran at me with all his might. I jumped over him as he swung his blade. CRACK! It hit the ground and cracked the ice.

"What can a thin avatar like yours do?" he asked.

I haven't spoken yet, since I didn't feel the need to. All I needed to do was to show this guy my strength.

"Hero Sword," I commanded.

I pulled my sword from my left hip and fell into my battle stance. My opponent charged me once again, swinging his sword over his head. I blocked it with mine with a little difficulty. I wondered what level this guy was...

"You don't use guns?" he cried in disbelief.

I responded by punching him with my left hand, knocking him off balance. I quickly dashed to his side and sliced his right arm off. He screamed in agony and I kicked the side of his head as I spun around. He fell to the ground and cracked the ice. If this ice broke, this duel would end in a tie, since I didn't have any aquatic abilities. My opponent didn't seem to have any aquatic abilities either. He was just big and strong with a sword. I had to defeat him before the ice broke.

My opponent quickly got back up and we clashed blades again. I was at a disadvantage here, since my opponent was bigger than me and had a bigger sword. Due to my avatar's slim body, I was much more agile than I was powerful. Despite this, my special attacks packed a mean punch.

Instead of moving away, I drew closer to my opponent. Because he had such a large sword, it wouldn't be very effective if I were too close. Because mine was light, I would be punished less.

I used my thrusters and dashed forward and next to my opponent. I then slashed his abdomen with my blade and performed a rising slash to send him into the air. I jumped up and slashed him back down with all my might, nearly destroying the ice.

"Not bad!" he shouted, "Now prepare yourself for my special move!"

Blue Cloud recovered from being knocked into the ground and jumped up towards me, who was still falling. His sword glowed blue and smashed into me. It didn't cut, but rather, it was pounded into me like a hammer. I fell and shattered the ice sheet we were previously standing on. The cold water enveloped me as I tried to swim out. Looking up, I noticed my opponent coming down with his sword in a similar fashion to one of my special moves.

I then had an idea. I switched to my Hero Gun and charged it up. Using my special move Charged Shot, I was able to gather energy in all of my weapons and unleash it in one strong attack. With my Hero Gun, I was able to consume more of my special move gauge for an elemental attack. It wasn't an attack boost, it was more of a status-infliction attack.

"Ice Javelin!" I shouted.

My Hero Gun shot out an icy spear and immediately froze the water above me right as Blue Cloud stabbed his sword into the water. Upon doing so, his sword and the bottom portion of his body was frozen and encased with ice. I swam to the surface and broke out. I jumped and landed right next to Blue Cloud and switched back to my Hero Sword.

"Not bad," he said.

"You're not too bad yourself," I said back.

I then ended the duel by cutting off his head. I gained ten points, indicating that my opponent was the same level as me. After returning to the real world, I seated myself properly and sent a message to Kuroyukihime, informing her of the new Burst Linker, but she probably knew by now.

_I was just challenged by a Burst Linker. His name is Blue Cloud. I've never seen him before, so he must be new. I just beat him in a duel and found that he was level 5._

I looked around the classroom to try to identify who this person was, but nobody here looked suspicious. No one here was angry that they lost something, or was slightly agitated at all. I shrugged it off and started to pay attention to what my new teacher was instructing.

During lunch, I met Kuroyukihime at our usual spot and found other third-years there. I grew nervous and asked them why they were there.

"To celebrate your six month anniversary, silly!" said Megumi, Kuroyukihime's closest friend.

"I see... Uhh, thanks?" I said.

They finally dispersed as I pushed through to get to Kuroyukihime. We cabled and the upperclassmen started to swoon. I sighed and ignored them.

"Was this necessary?" I asked, chuckling.

"I didn't plan it," she said, giggling.

"It's fine. Anyway, about that new Burst Linker..."

"He challenged me to a duel too. It seems like he wants to challenge everyone here. I hope he knows that we're one of the best Burst Linkers out there."

"Well, I'm not too sure about that," I said modestly.

"Lan, within half a year, you managed to get to level 5! That's quite a feat."

"I'm still no match for you, Kuroyukihime."

"You'll get there one day, I'm sure of it."

"Heh, I hope so."

To celebrate our sixth month anniversary, we were given two slices of cake, made by none other than Megumi herself. It was all white: white frosting and white inside. I wasn't a big fan of cake for lunch, but it felt rude to just not eat it. I cut a small portion with my fork and placed it in my mouth. It was surprisingly good! It tasted really sweet and it was quite moist. Megumi must've worked hard to make this cake good just for me and Kuroyukihime.

"You want to see where you are right now?" Kuroyukihime asked, before I could get another bite of the cake.

"Huh? What exactly do you-"

Before I could finish my sentence, I accelerated. Did Kuroyukihime do that? The cafeteria reconfigured itself to a post-apocalyptic stage. In front of me was the Black King herself, Black Lotus. She immediately switched from her usual form into a more dangerous, serious form. Her short-blades switched to longer, sharper blades. I definitely wasn't ready for this battle!


	7. Chapter 7 - Evaluation

"Are you for serious?" I asked, a little hesitant.

"I'm going to go all out. Good luck, Red Hero," she said calmly.

"One blade against two? Isn't that a little unfair?" I said humorously.

"Do your best."

I pulled out my Hero Sword and stared at it for a little bit. I wonder... Was it possible for it to become two swords? I needed something to counter her two blades. None of my other weapons seemed very useful here.

_Become two. _I thought with all my might.

_Split in two!_

_Become... two! _**(A/N: This is not the Incarnation System at work.)**

The handle increased in length and broke in two. I grabbed a hold of the other handle in my other hand and activated both of them. Instead of two Hero Swords, I got two longer and skinnier triangular blades that were horizontal instead of vertical. The blades were sprouted on both sides, however, one side was much shorter than the other. Perhaps this version of my Hero Sword was meant to be held with an underhand grip? I turned my blades upside down and noticed that this variant of my Hero Sword resembled tonfas, an Okinawan weapon used in martial arts, mostly. I wasn't exactly sure how to use tonfas. I then had to rely on the techniques people used with these things in anime and manga.

"My, my. It seems you surprise me with every duel, Hero," Kuroyukihime said, amused.

"It's my pleasure, Black Lotus," I said.

And with that, the duel began. I activated my thrusters and dashed towards Kuroyukihime with blinding speed. I attempted a stab at Black Lotus and she blocked it with her two blades. My left hand moved in for the next stab while my right left its position. My left strike was also blocked, as well as my right once again. I was stabbing in multiple areas and Black Lotus was blocking them all with such speed! So this was how it felt fighting a level 9 Burst Linker. Black Lotus slashed me away with the force of her two blades. I flew back, but thrusted back forward to recover from the distance. Black Lotus jumped into the air to dodge my incoming strikes.

"You're very relentless!" she said.

"Why would I give you a break?" I asked.

I sensed a smile behind that purple glass of hers. She put her two blades together in an 'x' formation and yelled out a special move.

"Death by Piercing!" she cried.

"Charged Shot!" I shouted back.

Upon activation of her special move, her blades and her purple gems around her body started to glow. I quickly switched my blades to the longer side and charged up my blades. She lunged at me with her two blades glowing purple and I lunged at her with my twin blades glowing green. As we struck, I felt an immense power surge through my body. My twin blades rippled and a shockwave bursted out. Black Lotus noticed it too late and it sent her her flying into a building with an immense force.

"I cancelled your special attack?" I asked, shocked.

Black Lotus charged out of the rubble with amazing speed and hit me with her special move that she failed to used before. I lost 60% of my HP in one hit! I felt like my body was ripped in half, but thankfully, it wasn't. I counterattacked with my Hero Blades, using maneuvers that were unique to using tonfas, and landed a few hits. I ended with a charged shot to send Black Lotus flying backwards again. I looked at her HP bar and saw that I dealt a considerable amount of damage, leaving her also with 60% of her HP left. I deactivated my Hero Blades and merged them back together to reform my Hero Sword.

"Not bad, Hero. But the duel isn't over yet!"

Black Lotus flew towards me and nearly struck me. I barely dodged her blades and dashed towards a crumbling building. Black Lotus followed me with haste, but I was much faster with my thrusters to help me. I dashed up the building and looked behind me to find Black Lotus staring at me, confused as to what I was doing. She knew my gunshots would be useless against her, my shield wouldn't have that big of a range, and that my chain wouldn't help here. She then climbed up a few seconds too late.

I kicked off the building and activated my Hero Sword, holding it face down. I was a few meters above Black Lotus and she was already a meter or two above the ground.

"Rakuretsuzan!" I said.

"What?" she gasped.

Rakuretsuzan was a special move of mine, meaning 'falling fury slash'. My avatar had a large variation of special moves, ranging from ground-effective ones and air-effective ones. Rakuretsuzan was an aerial one that was only powerful if I were at an appropriate height, and this situation, I was. I fell from the sky and landed on Black Lotus, reducing her HP to less than 20%. We crashed into the ground and made a small crater. I pulled my sword out of Black Lotus and prepared myself for the final attack.

But something stopped me.

"Black Lotus... If I defeat you, will you lose all of your points?" I asked.

"No, that only applies to level 9 Burst Linkers fighting against each other," she answered with effort.

Before I could deal the final blow, Black Lotus glowed green and stood back up extremely fast.

"Overdrive! Mode Change: Green!" she said.

I stepped back anxiously, wondering what Kuroyukihime could do. I've never seen her do this before, so I was extremely surprised. In a flash, she struck me in the abdomen, dealing a massive amount of damage. My HP fell below 25% and my left arm was cut off. Despite this, I quickly dashed back and attempted a slash. Black Lotus was faster, however, and sliced my other arm off. I stood still, shocked at her amazing speed and power in this form.

"Not bad, Hero. You nearly got me there, had you not asked me that question," Black Lotus said.

"I was afraid of taking away your Brain Burst," I said, disappointed in the outcome.

"It's alright. It _was_ your first duel with a level 9 Burst Linker..."

"I guess. Nevertheless, it was a very enjoyable duel, Black Lotus."

"It certainly was. I hope to see you become stronger and faster, Hero."

"I definitely will!" I said, before Black Lotus impaled me with her blade.

And with that, the duel was over, with Black Lotus as the victor.


	8. Chapter 8 - Invitation

A few days after the duel with Kuroyukihime, I fought a duel with an interesting opponent. I don't know how I had never heard about him before, because this opponent had the ability to fly. His name was Silver Crow. His duel avatar was similar to mine; it was slender and looked very fragile. He was metal colored with a green gems and a green glass covering his face. The moment we fought, I knew I was going to face a worthy opponent. His speed was amazing and his reaction time was outstanding, probably close to mine. He caught me off guard when he opened his wings. The spectators went wild! They wondered how a duel between the dueling avatar and the God of Destruction would end. I received that nickname after absolutely demolishing anyone who tried to claim Suginami, Nega Nebulous's territory, on my own. It was an interesting pair, World's End (Black Lotus's nickname) with the God of Destruction. We were the most famous partners in the Accelerated World.

Anywho, when Silver Crow revealed his aviation ability, I was stunned. I had never seen a flying avatar before, and didn't have any counterattacks. I just dodged his moves and tried to shoot him down with my Hero Gun. Then, I had an idea. When Silver Crow used his diving kick move, I switched to my Recoil Rod (I renamed my Hero Blades weapon to Recoil Rod, since it pushing enemies back was its main function). I charged it up and batted Silver Crow back. He was as shocked as Kuroyukihime was when I first used it on her. Right as he was sent flying backwards, I chased him using my thrusters and switched to my Hero Chain. I thrust my chain and it wrapped around him. I pulled him towards me and I managed to be one of the few people to bring Silver Crow to the ground. I detracted my chain and wailed on him with my Hero Sword, nearly destroying his avatar.

Before I could defeat him, he kicked me in the face and pushed me backwards. I regained my balance as he flew to the sky again. He was more cautious this time, wary of my Recoil Rod and Hero Chain. I never pulled those weapons out again, though. Instead, I surprised my opponent again by throwing my Shield Boomerang. It missed him the first time but cut off his legs when it came back. Silver Crow lost his balance in the air and stumbled. Before he could recover, I threw myself at him and punched him to submission. The duel ended as me being the victor. I held my hand out to Silver Crow and he took it with gratitude.

"Hey Silver Crow, you're pretty strong. Would you like to join Nega Nebulous?" I asked.

"R-Really? Of course I will!" he said.

Silver Crow was actually the only person I had ever asked to join Nega Nebulous ever since it was reborn.

"That's great! I'll talk to my Legion master and make sure it's okay with her. Go to Suginami in Unlimited Field in about ten minutes and I'll be able to tell you if you're in or not," I said.

"Alright!"

I logged out and called Kuroyukihime and told her about Silver Crow.

_What level is he? _She asked.

_Level 5. He's not that bad. His aviation ability will be a great advantage._ I said back.

_Hmm. I'll have to see for myself. _

_Alright. I told him to rendezvous to the Unlimited Field in Suginami in ten minutes._

Ten minutes later, I linked back into Brain Burst, hoping to find Kuroyukihime and Silver Crow. Thankfully, I didn't have to look long, since I found them in our territory. I waved hello and Silver Crow and Kuroyukihime waved back.

Silver Crow demonstrated his techniques that he used with his wings. He was a fast flyer, and he was able to dodge my gunshots. Kuroyukihime hesitated for a moment. I was afraid she was going to disapprove until she requested to be carried into the air. Silver Crow laughed and did so. Seeing her arms around Silver Crow made me slightly jealous. They flew up into the sky and disappeared from my view. I sighed and wondered if my weapon could turn itself into a jet pack. I chuckled at the thought and waited patiently for Kuroyukihime and Silver Crow to fall come back down.

Within a few minutes, they descended from the sky gracefully. It was odd, to see them together. They looked like a better pair than Black Lotus and Red Hero. The opposite colors looked nice together.

"I could get addicted to that. That was a wonderful flight, Silver Crow," said Black Lotus.

"Thank you, Lotus-sama! Do you think I'm suitable for your Legion?"

"Of course. Besides, Red Hero and I have been defending this place on our own for a while now," she chuckled.

"Alright!" Silver Crow said cheerily.

I laughed and gave him a pat on the back.

"Hero-san..." Silver Crow started.

"Hmm?"

"Is it true that you're a God of Destruction? You're far too kind to be something like that..."

"Ahh, that's just a nickname I got after ruthlessly slaying enemies trying to take our territory," I said modestly.

"There are times when Hero becomes something else," Black Lotus observed.

"I've noticed it too. I've seen you fight, you know," Silver Crow agreed.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?" I asked, clearly confused.

"Whenever a battle is really heated, you seem to lose sight of everything else except for the enemy. You become much more focused and almost scary. You've never exhibited this strength to me yet, but I fear it more than I fear any other King," Black Lotus explained.

"I see. Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all! It was just an observation."

We laughed about it for bit until Silver Crow said that he needed to go back to the real world to do some things. He flew towards a return point to leave Black Lotus and me alone.

"He's quite the avatar," I said.

"He sure is. Flying was really fun," Kuroyukihime said.

"I'm sure it was. I wish I could fly!"

"Wings don't suit you," she laughed.

"But this hair does?"

"It's beautiful."

"You don't tell males that their hair is beautiful!" I laughed.

"Sorry!"

We laughed and decided it was time to leave the Accelerated World and do something else. While walking to the return point, I asked Kuroyukihime a question.

"Am I really that scary sometimes?" I asked.

"Yes, you are. There are still things I don't even know about your avatar. It looks like it has unlimited potential."

"Unlimited potential? Is that possible?"

"It could be."

"Does yours have unlimited potential?"

"I think my avatar's potential is very limited. I can only slice things to bits and move really fast. Yours, on the other hand, can be useful in practically any situation." Kuroyukihime said, "You can defend things with your shield, shoot with your gun, slice and dice with your sword... It's completely overpowered."

"Speaking of defending things with a shield..." I said.

"Hmm?"

"My avatar can change forms. Here, I'll show you."

Kuroyukihime stared at me with a confused expression. I grinned and told her to watch carefully.

"Defense Form!" I commanded.

My body started to shimmer and change color. In about two seconds, the crimson red parts on my body changed to a lime green. Kuroyukihime was shocked and inspected me.

"At first glance, it seems like you just changed colors. Defense form, you said? How did you obtain this?" she asked.

"I think I got it after finishing off a lot of people with my Shield Boomerang. I received a message saying that 'A new form has awakened...' and then I checked my skills. There was a new sub-column labeled 'Forms'. There are only two right now, my normal form and this defense form."

"I see. As the name implies, it increases your defense power, right?"

"I think so. I've yet to use it. Wanna try hitting me?" I asked.

"Sure. Don't complain if you get hurt."

Black Lotus used a normal slash and hit me with it. My HP bar barely went down 3%. I wasn't a rigid statue, though. I felt the hit and was pushed back a little.

"So this form certainly increases my defenses, but not enough to the point where I'm an iron wall," I observed.

"Do you think it lowers attack power?" she asked, "You know, to balance it out a little?"

"Perhaps. Let's see."

I pulled out my Hero Sword and slashed Black Lotus. She received a light scratch compared to the usual wound I gave my enemies. Then again, she was the Black King.

"My HP was barely reduced. So this form is useful for tanking."

"Looks like it," I said, disappointed.

"Don't worry. I'm sure you'll awaken more forms eventually."

"I guess. Well, do you want to head out now? We finally made it to the return point."

"Alright. See you later, Lan."

And with that, we parted ways.

(Yes, Red Hero will be awakening more forms. There won't be as many as there were in MMZ2, though.)


	9. Chapter 9 - Deportation

(Kuroyukihime's POV, and a true test of my skills as a writer to portray her character efficiently.)

Lan's unlimited potential truly scared me. It was frightening to see an avatar be able to do a multitude of things. When he showed me his Defense Form, I began to worry. What if this quest for power eats away at his soul? Will he eventually turn against me and the Legion and just fight for himself? Will he be the first Burst Linker to reach level 10? The latter was more likely than the others. Lan was a kind person, both in the game and in real life. He said he would never break our bond, and he would uninstall Brain Burst himself if we had to fight for real.

I plopped myself into bed and pulled the sheets over me. I was tired from today, and I had to figure out some way to tell Lan that I was going on the senior trip to Okinawa without getting him angry. Perhaps over some food? He was always really understanding over food. Maybe I'll take him out later...

The thought of Lan and me together in a restaurant made my face go red. I was used to being with Lan in public, but not in a restaurant. People would think that we're too young to be a couple! Maybe over lunch at school, then.

I closed my eyes and my thoughts began to wander. Red Hero, the God of Destruction, was the most overpowered duel avatar I had ever met. I wondered if he could even scare _her_. He even had techniques with his sword (and probably his other weapons) that I haven't even seen yet. Some of them were elemental attacks, and others didn't have an element. There were two that I have seen so far. His Rakuretsuzan technique in our previous duel and his Shouenga, meaning 'rising flame fang'. It was an attack that ignited his sword in flames as he executed a rising slash. I also heard that he used one that was called Reppuugeki, meaning 'gale attack'. It was said that he used his thrusters to dash forward and impaled two enemies with this attack in a two on one duel.

He had quite the battle spirit despite his kind personality. He's different compared to when he first started out. He's grown more calm and confident of his skills. He doesn't let his emotions get in the way and just fights as hard as he can. Except that in our duel, he cared about my loss of Brain Burst. If it were another opponent who was close to losing their Brain Burst, would he let them go? Or would he ruthlessly cut them down like he does during territory defense? Shaking the thought off, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I prepared for a new day. I put on my school uniform and checked myself out in the mirror in my room. Did Lan ever get sick of my current look? I always looked the same, with my straight black hair and black clothing. If he did, he'd speak up, I guess. I ate a healthy breakfast consisting of a whole-grain cereal and orange juice. I checked myself over after breakfast making sure everything was ship-shape. I then looked outside and noticed the dark, cloudy sky. I rummaged around for an umbrella in a nearby closet and found myself a slightly large one. Lan was one to forget about the rain, as he didn't mind it.

"It's just water," he once said.

I giggled to myself after recalling the memory and walked outside towards Lan's. He didn't live very far away from my place, so that was nice. I waited by his door for a few minutes, hoping that he didn't forget to wake up. Before I knocked on the door, it opened and I found Lan with a piece of toast in his mouth.

"Good morning, Lan!" I said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Kuroyukihime!" he said between bites of toast.

We walked to school together as always and had a nice talk about our morning.

"It looks like it might rain," I said.

"Hmm. Didn't notice," he said, looking up at the sky.

"You never do, so I brought an umbrella with me."

I pulled it out and opened it. It would cover the both of us nicely if Lan held it. I gave it to him and he took it with a surprised expression. Shortly afterwards, rain started to fall. I put my left arm in Lan's right arm and walked with him with a small smile. Megumi told me that I haven't been like this in ages. If I had never made Lan my _child_ last year, this would have never happened. There wouldn't have been a Red Hero, I would still be in hiding, and I would still remain lost in the darkness.

"Hey, Kuroyukihime..."

"Yes, Lan?" I asked.

"Who was your _parent_?"

My mood suddenly changed into a serious and dark one.

"I can't tell you who she is, because I don't want you to become interested in her," I said coldly.

"I was just, erm, curious. That's all."

My face fell. I was ashamed for suddenly becoming angry with him.

"My _parent_ is someone I hate with the utmost passion. Even right now, I want to chop all of her limbs off and watch her beg for mercy. I thought she would be the one who would elude the darkness around me with her light and always be there for me..."

"I see. I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's quite alright."

"...Do you think I'll ever meet her?" he asked.

"Perhaps. Your name is popular among the Accelerated World. I think she would be more than happy to eliminate my _child_."

We made it to the school and sat in our usual spot in the cafeteria. I debated on whether or not to tell him now, or during lunch over food. I felt that I would feel nervous about this all day so I decided to spit it out.

"I have to tell you something," I said quietly, looking down at the table.

"What is it?" Lan asked with concern.

"I'll be going on a senior field trip to Okinawa in two days. I'll be there for a week, so you'll have to defend Nega Nebulous with Silver Crow while I'm gone."

"It's alright, I understand. I just wish I could go..."

"I wish you could go too!" I exclaimed.

"We can't be together everywhere," he said with a sad smile.

"I know, and that's awful. Why couldn't you be my age?" I asked humorously.

"I ask myself the same thing all the time," he laughed, "Oh well, I can't do anything about it. Have fun!" he said with a big smile.

It was amazing how fast he could change emotions, whether if it was another person's or his. He could definitely make my day go from a bad one to a great one within a few seconds. His smile was certainly amazing and contagious.

"I will. I'm glad you understand," I said, returning the smile.

(No, I will not be following Kuroyukihime in Okinawa. Sorry!)


	10. Chapter 10 - Information

The two days Kuroyukihime and I spent together were well-spent. We treated it as though we were moving away rather than going on a trip for a week. It was fun to be almost everywhere with Kuroyukihime. When Sunday came around it was time for her to leave. I was there to see her off, although the entire senior class made it seem a little embarrassing. Kuroyukihime was the last person to enter the train. We hugged goodbye, and I told her once again that she should have fun. Then she said she was going to bring something back for me. I told her I couldn't wait to see it. And just like that, the girl of my dreams left.

It's been a while since I've felt this feeling, this feeling of loneliness. It was extinguished when Kuroyukihime entered my life, even if at first she just wanted to be friends. It was hard to believe that we were together for nearly a year now. I don't think anything could set us apart, even if we were middle schoolers. No, our physical attributes were of middle schoolers, but our souls were much more mature. We had spent countless months in the Accelerated World, exploring it and defeating enemies that stood in our way.

Now, I was all to myself. I then decided that I would do something for her, since she's doing something for me. I was going to find her friend that she had supposedly broken a bond with. With a confident attitude, I went back home and connected to the Unlimited Field. Before I could, however, I received a message from Silver Crow. He said it was urgent and that I needed to see him in Suginami. I wondered what it could be about and Bursted into the Unlimited Field. Upon entering, I quickly dashed towards my home base in Suginami.

On the way, I wondered how I could awaken my other forms. I didn't exactly know the prerequisite for any of them. If I did, I'd have them all already. Looks like I'd have to keep fighting enemies like I do now, just slash them out of my way. I was always reminded of Kuroyukihime saying that I had unlimited potential. It was interesting, how a person like me would give birth to a duel avatar with unlimited potential. Wasn't I already powerful enough with all of my abilities?

I stopped to find Silver Crow sitting on top of a tree, waiting for me. I walked to the tree and knocked the base, shaking it a little. Silver Crow looked down and jumped off once he knew it was me.

"What do you need?" I asked.

"I was beaten in a duel by an _outrageous_ opponent. He said that he wanted to fight the Black King instead of me!" Silver Crow cried.

"Wait, what? Start at the beginning."

"Alright. I was challenged by this guy who claims to be called 'Omega' or something and he said I was a weakling. So I got really mad and kicked his ass!"

"I thought you said you lost."

"You didn't let me finish!" he cried, "You see, after I defeated him, he came back to life! He changed from a white color to a gold color, though. He got stronger too, I think. After he did that, I was done for."

"That's certainly something. I've never heard of a Burst Linker who could revive themselves," I said, rubbing my chin.

"Yeah! He wants to challenge the Black King next."

"You think he would accept my challenge over the Black King's?" I suggested.

"Why can't Lotus-sama come?"

"Uhm, she's kind of busy..."I said nervously. _How am I supposed to tell him that she's gone and now it's just us two defending the territory now? Especially with this 'Omega' running around? Now that I think about it, how come I've never heard of this Burst Linker who could revive himself? Maybe I've been too caught up-_

"Hey! Hero-san! Are you listening?" Silver Crow said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Where's Lotus-sama and what's she doing?"

"Well... She's on her senior field trip."

"W-Where is she?!"

"O...Okinawa." I stuttered.

"WHAT?!" Silver Crow shrieked.

"Don't worry about it, I'm still here!" I said, waving my arms around.

"_Why would she leave at such an important time?!_" Silver Crow screamed.

I figured he had lost his sanity and was about to walk away and exit the Unlimited Field through a return point.

"Where are you going?!"

"I'm leaving?"

"THERE'S AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND OVERPOWERED BURST LINKER RUNNING ABOUT AND YOU'RE JUST GONNA LEAVE?!"

"Calm down, Silver Crow," I said, covering my head where my ears should be.

"HOW CAN I-"

I punched him square in the chest and sent him flying towards the tree he was sitting on moments ago. You know, _before_ he started screaming at me.

"Ow... That kinda hurt," he groaned.

"That was for screaming so loudly," I said back.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm just really worried right now about our territory, that's all! There are also other things going on too, but..."

"Other things?" I inquired. I was curious.

"It's nothing, really. Just a n-new guy that showed up at my school a-and is being troublesome, that's all!" he stammered, "I was just here to inform you and Lotus-sama about that 'Omega' guy."

"Alright. I'll take care of him, I'll make sure of it!" I said confidently.

My confidence cheered up Silver Crow, it looked like. He stopped screaming, at least.

"What Legion is he from?" I asked.

"I think he's from the White Legion, but I'm not so sure."

"It's all good. You take care of your problem and I'll take care of this one, got it?"

"Roger! Thanks, Hero-san!"

"Don't sweat it," I said, smiling.

We shook hands and parted ways. Silver Crow walked to the return point while I sat down, leaning against a tree, lost in thought. Thinking about this 'Omega' and whatever Silver Crow was facing. I wonder why he didn't fly towards the return point. He always flew there at the end of the day or meeting. Was that also part of his dilemma? I shrugged it off and focused on Omega. If he was a Burst Linker who had the ability to revive himself, why hasn't anyone heard of him? Did he just appear, and is level 1, or what? I should've asked Silver Crow for Omega's level, now that I thought about it.

I sighed and gazed at the sky, which was a crimson red. If I told Kuroyukihime about Omega, she would surely come back from her trip to Okinawa. I wanted her to enjoy that trip to the fullest, without worrying about me or Nega Nebulous. I even told her I would be able to handle the things that were going to be thrown at me. Then again, I didn't expect an opponent who could revive themselves.

I stood up and walked towards the return point. I decided that this Omega could wait until after I was done napping. It was a tiresome day, seeing Kuroyukihime off and now having Silver Crow scream until my eardrums popped. The moment I exited, I immediately relaxed my body and fell forwards. Unfortunately, I was nowhere near my bed, so I face-planted into the floor. Thankfully, it was carpet, so it didn't hurt as much if it were wood. I got up and rubbed my nose, which was in pain. After making sure it wasn't broken or anything (you could never be too careful), I made sure I was actually in front of my bed and then face-planted into my cozy pillow.

I fell into a deep sleep almost instantly. It was quite relaxing.

(Omega is making an appearance, oh boy! He's definitely going to be more overpowered than Red Hero, just so you know. How is that possible? You'll see. I mean, being able to revive yourself is already as overpowered as it is. His parent is the reason why he can revive himself. Also, the problem that Silver Crow is facing is Dusk Taker himself, but Lan doesn't know that. He won't be involved with the Dusk Taker incident at all.)


	11. Chapter 11 - Obligation

(This chapter's a bit longer than the others. That's because a character from Accel World makes an appearance! Hint hint: He's awesome.)

**The First Day**

I awoke from my peaceful slumber and rubbed my eyes. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was 6:00 AM exactly. Right on time for school. After doing the usual, I grabbed a piece of toast for breakfast and opened the front door, expecting Kuroyukihime to show up. When I didn't see her, I was confused. She was always here when I got out of bed, where was she?

Then I remembered yesterday and chuckled to myself.

_That's right. She's in Okinawa right now._

I walked out and headed for the school, alone. This week was going to be rather long.

After remembering the rest of yesterday, I accelerated to look for Omega on the matching list. As I scrolled through, I couldn't find a single name that had 'Omega' in it. Confused, I scrolled through the list again. Then it hit me: Omega was a nickname. He could've been any color! Although Silver Crow said that Omega was white, his name didn't necessarily start with 'White'. Distressed, I returned to the real world and entered the school.

Instead of going to the usual spot in the cafeteria, I went to my first class. I found a few of my classmates already here and sat down in my seat. Olive Driver, the Burst Linker I challenged last year to be Kuroyukihime's date, sat next to me. He's grown more friendly since then, thankfully.

"Kuroyukihime-senpai is on her senior trip, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah. This week will be a long one," I said casually, hiding my disappointment.

"There are plenty of girls around! You can get with them while she's gone."

"That's an awful suggestion! I'm not going to 'get with' different girls!" I said harshly.

"I was just joking," he chuckled.

"Good."

I sighed and set up my Neuro Linker for the class, opening up various windows and documents. Class didn't start for a few more minutes, so I decided to talk to Olive Driver some more.

"Hey, have you heard of that Burst Linker who can revive themselves?" I asked him.

"Hmm? You mean Omega?"

"Yeah. What's his real name?"

"I don't know. Nobody's ever heard of him until now."

"What level is he?"

"From the fights I've seen, he looks like he's around your level."

Omega was level 5, it seemed. Did he become a Burst Linker at around the same time as me? Maybe that's why nobody knows who he is; I've been taking all of his fame by defeating nearly every opponent in my way and becoming the God of Destruction. Or maybe, he's just never had a duel where he 'died' and revived himself until Silver Crow challenged him. I wonder if people thought about the outcome if he and I fought...

"Why do you ask?" Olive Driver asked curiously.

"I plan on dueling him," I said with a cunning grin.

"Nice! I should warn you though, nobody knows how many times he can revive himself. So defeating him might not be so easy."

"Don't worry, I got this. I am the God of Destruction, after all."

Before our conversation could continue further, students began to rush in, indicating that class was about to start. When our instructor finally made it, we were given a long lecture about history.

_More history..._ I grumbled to myself. I took notes as usual. Except this time, I was planning strategies against this mysterious opponent Omega at the same time.

* * *

After school, I compiled all of the data I had on Omega and went over them in my head. Omega was a Burst Linker who had the ability to revive himself and was white in color. Whether or not he was metal-colored was unknown right now, so I went with his white color. Omega has _never_ lost a single duel yet. Despite this, he is not known for always winning, but rather, reviving himself. He also goes by the name of 'Omega', the last Greek letter in the alphabet, for some reason.

Thanks to Blue Cloud, I knew what Omega's real name was. It was White Devil, a name that sent chills down my spine. I was also able to gain some knowledge on his attack pattern and fighting style. Omega rarely moved, similarly to the Red King, except that he wasn't an immovable fortress. He used his hands as a weapon and he carried a stone sword on his back that he supposedly never uses. His hands shot circular beams that moved quite fast, but it was possible to dodge them. His face had the capabilities of shooting laser beams as well.

I took mental notes and felt like I was ready to defeat this foe. Unfortunately, I did not know if his attack pattern changed when he revived himself. I'd have to ask Silver Crow that later. Did he solve that issue from yesterday? I didn't want to bother him, so I decided to prepare for the fight with Omega. I accelerated and looked for opponents that I've never heard of or fought before. I didn't care about their levels because I had plenty of points to spare.

I scrolled down the list and picked out a level 5 Burst Linker, whose name was Ash Roller. I wasn't sure of who he was, so I decided to pick him. I requested a duel and the world burned away before me. It was replaced by a rocky and arid desert. I looked around for my opponent, moving from cover to cover. Before I moved again, I heard a distant noise moving towards me from behind me. I turned around and saw a small black shadow coming towards me. Behind the black shadow was a ginormous dust cloud. Either my opponent was on a vehicle, or they were running _really_ fast. But would someone who could run that fast make that much noise?

I pulled out my Hero Sword and waited for my opponent to get closer. Upon closer inspection, Ash Roller was in fact, in a vehicle. What kind of vehicle, I wasn't too sure. I ran forward at top speed to figure out what kind of opponent I was facing. As we neared each other, I immediately recognized the vehicle, which was an early 21st century motorbike of some sort. If Ash Roller used that as a weapon, this would be an easy fight. All I had to do was disable his vehicle.

I moved in with my Hero Sword out, ready to take out his motorbike. Ash Roller saw me coming and accelerated faster. I activated my thrusters and dashed forward. As we got closer, I felt time begin to slow down. I noticed his features as I prepared for an attack. His head closely resembled a skull, which was strange. He wore a jacket with a single spike protruding from each shoulder pad. I also noticed that he had spikes on his motorbike as well, except that they were on his wheels.

I moved to the left of the bike with my right hand stretched out with my weapon, ready to cut the bike in half. If he kept moving at this speed, his bike would surely get torn in half.

Before I knew it, Ash Roller's bike propelled itself into the air and I missed my slash. Dumbfounded, I turned around and Ash Roller landed back onto the ground with a loud THUMP! sending dust everywhere.

"**Hey hey, you!**" Ash Roller said. **(A/N: Bolded words are English.)**

"What?" I simply responded.

"Aren't you the God of Destruction?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

"**Mega-lucky!**" Ash Roller cried.

"**M-Mega lucky?**" I repeated with a confused expression.

"I was waiting to try my new propulsion technique on Crow, but it seems like you'll do!"

"Crow? Silver Crow?"

"Hmm? What was that?" Ash Roller screamed over the loud revving of his bike.

"N-Never-mind."

"Guess what you are!"

"What am I?" I asked, clearly confused at this encounter.

"**Giga-unlucky!**" Ash Roller screamed at the top of his lungs.

His bike then moved forward at top speed, to my surprise. Thankfully, it wasn't as fast as Black Lotus, so I easily dodged it. Before I knew it, he was coming back as fast as ever. Every time I tried to slice him in half with my Hero Sword, he would just jump over me. I grew impatient, so I switched to my Hero Gun and shot at his bike. My mistake was shooting at the bike itself and not the tires, but I realized that a little too late as Ash Roller hit me with his bike. I was struck on my right side and went flying left. I crashed into a rock and felt winded.

_I can't believe I got hit by that guy..._ I thought.

I couldn't take a breather since Ash Roller was coming again. This time, he activated thrusters from the back of his bike, charging at me with full speed. I switched to my Recoil Rod and used Charged Shot. If this was able to stop Black Lotus's special attack, it would surely stop a motorbike coming at me, right?

I unleashed the energy that was contained the Recoil Rod with all my might right as Ash Roller neared me. My Recoil Rod landed successfully and sent both me and Ash Roller flying backwards. I crashed into the rock I was previously in, but it was with much less force than the bike, so I dashed forward. I began to look for Ash Roller, hopefully finding him before he finds his bike.

I found Ash Roller pinned beneath his bike against a rock. The term 'stuck between a rock and a hard place' was never truer. I stifled a laugh and made it to where Ash Roller was. He was squirming, trying to get the bike off of him.

"Looks like you're the one who turned out to be **giga-unlucky**," I chuckled.

"**Shaddup you!**" he cried with effort.

"Hey, you said something about a Crow. Were you referring to Silver Crow?" I asked.

"Yeah. What other kind of Crow would be out there, dumbass?"

"Uhm..." I said, scratching the side of my face, "You're right."

"Told you! Now are you going to finish me off or are you just gonna gloat?!"

"Well, I was going to ask you if you knew what was up with Silver Crow."

"The kid's crying about losing his wings or something. I helped him out, so you don't need to worry about it."

"I see," I said, slightly disappointed that Silver Crow would ask for help from people that wasn't from his Legion, "Anyway, did you spectate his duel with Omega?"

"**Hell yes! **That battle was beyond **crazy! **Why do you ask?"

"I'm planning on fighting Omega really soon. I was wondering if you could give me some tips on his moves."

"No way! Not until you beat me!"

I narrowed my eyes and put my face closer to his. I then pointed towards his bike and then the rock behind him.

"What does this look like?" I asked, slightly amused.

"O-Oh. I forgot," he said, "GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

I sighed and lifted the bike, which was surprisingly heavy, off of Ash Roller. I took a look at the time and noticed that there was plenty of time left. Ash Roller thanked me and leaned against the rock.

"Well, whaddya want to know?" he asked grumpily.

"Is he any different from his first form?"

"A little bit. He actually uses his giant-ass sword in his gold form."

"That's it?" I asked, surprised at the slight change.

"Yup. That's it, really."

"Wow. Thanks, Ash Roller."

"No problem," he said, putting his hand up.

I started to walk towards him with my Hero Sword out, ready to finish him off.

"Before you kill me," he said suddenly, "I'd like to say that you're not as evil and benevolent people say you are."

"Hmm? What do you mean?" I asked, confused. Was this some sort of trickery to get me to let my guard down?

"It's hard to believe that person who is known to be the God of Destruction would be as nice as you are. I mean, Silver Crow lives up to his name as the first aviator in the Accelerated World, but you..."

"I'm not showing any signs of being a God of Destruction at all, am I?" I finished.

"Exactly. Can you do me a favor and show the World that power when you face Omega?"

I hesitated for a moment. If he was going to strike me down, he might as well do it now. Well, attempt to, anyway.

"Of course. I promise."

It seemed like Ash Roller smiled as he put his hand down. I stood, facing him with a warm smile. I promised to show this Burst Linker I had just met my true strength against Omega. No, I wasn't just showing him, I was showing the rest of the Accelerated World. Was that something a Hero would do? I wondered that as I sliced off his head, thus ending the duel.


	12. Chapter 12 - Emulation

(Another long chapter. I absolutely enjoyed writing this chapter, though. Red Hero is fighting Omega in the same room as Zero when he first encountered Omega!)

Returning back to the real world, I took a breather. The fight against Ash Roller was a little exhausting, dodging his bike and such. I decided to go buy myself a drink before fighting Omega. There were people that were waiting for me to come to defeat him. Although it was only a fight between level 5 Burst Linkers, I felt like it was a sudden death duel between two Kings. Omega's power already surpassed a few of the Kings just by being able to revive himself. If he were able to wear an opponent down and then revive himself, the weak opponent would stand no chance.

After gulping down my water bottle, I crushed it and threw it into a recycling container. I stared at the afternoon sky a little bit longer, running my strategy over in my head. The only thing that concerned me was his sword in his revived form. Can I block it? Does he swing it fast? Can I slash through it? I threw those thoughts aside since I would know the answers when I fought him.

I accelerated and looked for Omega. I'm surprised he didn't hunt me down first. I scrolled until I found his name, White Devil. I pressed it with my index finger and requested a duel. The world fell apart around me and reconstructed itself. I transformed into my duel avatar that I've dueled with for several months now, Red Hero. I appeared in front of a big blue door. I looked behind me and saw another blue door. I wasn't going to back out of this one. I stepped forward and the door in front of me slowly opened in an interesting fashion. The middle of the door opened and the top and bottom halves separated.

In the room, there was a giant gray wall in front of me. I shifted my gaze to the left and then slowly moved it to the right. There were walls there too, except that they were illuminated by a blue light. I stepped forward and the door behind me closed in the opposite way it opened. I wondered where Omega was, so I looked at the guiding cursor at the bottom of my HUD. This functioned as a guide to where my opponent was. I rarely used it since my opponents almost always appeared the moment I entered the battlefield.

The strange thing was that the guiding cursor was pointing directly in front of me, but no one was there. Did Omega have the ability to be invisible as well as reviving himself? I moved forward a little more and right as I did so, the top portion of the wall in front of me blew to bits. A white hand with claw-like fingers emerged from where the wall used to be. I then realized what was going to happen next.

The bottom portion of the wall also blew to bits as the other hand came through. I jumped at the right moment as it tried to grab me. It hit the wall behind me and was stunned for a few moments. I took that chance to pull out my Hero Sword and slice it in half. To me relief, it was cut in half and exploded into thousands of polygons. I turned around and destroyed the rest of the wall that remained between Omega and me. I was surprised to see a big Burst Linker, possibly the size of the Green King! His hand that I didn't destroy came back and levitated on his right side. I looked up at my HUD and noticed his HP bar went down a little after destroying his left hand.

Omega was a white duel avatar, just like Silver Crow had said. His avatar design was similar to a knight outfit, as it had a white overcoat. He had large white 'boots' and the rest of his body was black with a red design. His helmet was also black with a red design. It almost looked like a face, since his helmet had a 'mouth'. On top of his head was a streak of light purple hair, similar to my hair. On his back he carried a stone sword the size of himself! From what I could tell, the point resembled a cross.

"Hello Red Hero," he spoke in a confident and deep voice.

"Hello White Devil. Or should I call you Omega?" I responded.

"I prefer to be referred to as Omega, thank you very much."

I walked towards him and stopped when we were about 20 meters apart. I stood, facing him with my head slightly tilted towards his head. From my peripheral vision, I noticed quite a crowd had gathered to see me fight against Omega.

"Let's not waste any time, shall we?" I said.

"I agree."

I ran forward and Omega's remaining hand immediately flew towards me with amazing speed! It was almost as fast as Black Lotus in her all-out state. I narrowly dodged it and kept running towards Omega. I sensed the hand coming at me again from behind me, so I jumped, dodging it yet again. Omega seemed surprised that I was able to dodge his hand twice. I pulled out my Hero Sword once again and jumped. Omega's hand came back for more, but I sliced it in half just like his other hand. Before it could disappear, I used it as a platform to jump off of and I slashed Omega's face with tremendous force, pushing him back. His HP bar went down about 30% from that hit alone.

I jumped back up for another strike, but Omega had something different in mind. His face started to glow and large green laser beams shot out. I responded by activating my thrusters and air-dashing to the side, avoiding the laser beam. Omega sent more laser beams at me with little delay between each beam. I had to give him credit for doing a decent job of predicting my movement. I was hit by a few beams, but it didn't stop me from dodging and rolling. I noticed something strange happening, though. His hands were coming back! I saw them slowly materialize back between each laser beam that was shot.

I switched weapons to my Shield Boomerang and reflected his shots back at him. Omega was astonished at what I could do with my shield and was hit by one of his own lasers. I jumped back to defend myself against more lasers, but nothing was being shot out of Omega. I put my shield down and wondered what he was doing. I noticed that his black body had green spots appearing randomly. I looked up at his HP bar and noticed that it was recovering! So he could heal himself too?!

Before I could stop him, his hands reappeared as if nothing happened to them. His left hand rushed out and tried to grab me, but it cut itself in the process. My Shield Boomerang was still out, and because it was just my Hero Sword spinning really fast whatever it touched, it cut. Omega flinched and I switched back to my Hero Sword, running back at him. I was dodging his hands again, but it was harder now since there were two. Before I was 10 meters away from Omega, the hands glowed and shot out circular beams. I dodged all of them with ease since they were slow moving. However, they reflected off the walls and moved faster! I quickly made it to Omega and jumped to his head, slashing him like crazy. His hands fell to the ground as I wreaked havoc to his face. As I fell, I was hit by a circular beam and was blown backwards. Omega took advantage of this and shot his laser beams from his face at me.

An idea sprung into my head as the first laser beam hit me. I switched to Defense Form to minimize the damage. My base color changed into a lime green and the hits didn't sting as much. I noticed my HP decreasing at a _much_ slower pace than usual. It was at about 70% right now while Omega's was at 60%. I sides-stepped his laser beams again and switched back to my normal form. I did this because I was going to use a special move and I wanted to maximize the damage. My special move gauge was full, so it was going to be a powerful one.

"Rekkoha!" I said loudly. **(A/N: It's the MMX6 version)**

I pounded my fist into the ground and white pillars of light from above rained down. I heard the crowd go wild at the appearance of this special move. I had only used this once in a duel against a green colored opponent. I had forgotten his name, but I was only able to break through his defenses with this move that was practically an instant-kill.

Omega was caught off guard at the sight of my special move. He began to run away a few seconds too late, causing the raining pillars of light to utterly demolish him. As the remaining lights crashed into the ground, I took a glance at Omega's ruined body. His legs were obliterated as well as his hands. His helmet was cracked deeply and his stone sword was nowhere to be found. I defeated Omega, but only his first form. He was going to revive himself now.

Just like I had predicted, Omega was enveloped in a black shroud-like aura. It grew bigger and I realized that he was going to appear standing again, so I jumped back a few meters with my Hero Sword ready. What appeared in front of me was exactly what Silver Crow said: Omega in a gold outfit. His black inner-armor didn't change, but his red design changed into a blue one. His hair also turned into a deeper and darker purple. His stone sword reappeared behind him, thankfully still stone. It would be easy to break that.

To my surprise, the stone sword broke and a hot pink blade appeared. I gritted my teeth and gripped my Hero Sword tighter. This was going to be much tougher than the previous fight.

Omega floated down and landed on his feet, shaking the ground. I ran straight towards him, ready for whatever he was going to throw at me. His right hand moved and grabbed the handle of his sword, swinging it towards me. I blocked with as much strength as I could exert, getting pushed back inch by inch. I jumped and Omega's sword flew under me and into the wall, not expecting that I would jump. I then air-dashed towards him for a hit, but his other hand blocked his face and I slashed that instead. While I was able to destroy it in one hit before, that was not the case now. I definitely did some damage, but not enough to destroy it in one blow.

Before I could fall, Omega's right hand swung his sword back and hit me. It was embedded into my abdomen as I was flung towards the wall. I felt a sharp pain in both my sides as I was being pushed into the wall. I resisted the urge to give in to the pain and tried to push the blade away. I was too frail and Omega was too big. I could not move the blade; I could only stop it from pushing me into the wall any further. I was in the exact situation as Ash Roller when his bike fell on him. However...

"It seems you're stuck, Hero," Omega said, chuckling.

"Kinda... yeah," I gasped.

I wasn't going to lose to this guy! I closed my eyes and kept trying to push back. I had to show the World the strength of... The strength of the God of Destruction or the strength of the Red Hero? Were they the same person? If not, who was who? Why was I having an identity crisis in the heat of battle?!

_Who am I really?_

_I was brought into this world as the Red Hero who would protect his bonds with his friends. He would also protect his friends and their bonds, no matter what the cost was. From there, the God of Destruction was born, defeating everyone in his way. They're the same person. Red Hero __**is **__the God of Destruction._

"Although I would prefer a better nickname..." I said aloud.

"Hmm? What was that?" Omega asked.

I reopened my pitch black eyes with a new sense of determination. I used my left hand to destroy a part of the wall above me and quickly moved upwards, thus resulting in the large sword to hit the wall again. Despite the large wound on my chest, I ran forward towards Omega with full speed, dodging his other hand. I used another special move, this time with my Hero Gun. It was called Burst Shot; it was fire-type attack that exploded upon impact, doing slightly more damage than my normal Charged Shot. I powered it up with my Charged Shot to make it this shot my strongest ranged attack and my special move gauge emptied itself again. I shot the energy-filled Burst Shot at Omega and it hit his head, causing a tremendous explosion and lowering his HP down to 40%. I didn't stop there and shot more rounds into Omega's head, making his HP drop slowly but surely.

But even as I did that, Omega activated his own special move. I had no idea what he was going to do, since this wasn't part of the battle intel I received. His special move gauge nearly depleted to zero, indicating that this was going to be a big move. His left hand quickly moved to the point that was the center between the two of us and pounded the ground.

"Rekkoha!" he yelled.

_Wait! What?! _I thought in disbelief.

Instead of white pillars of light raining down, they were pitch-black. There were two possibilities of how Omega knew this move. He either has a special move that can copy an opponent's special move or this move is also in his special move list.

Before I could try to solve this mystery, I switched to Defense Form and dodged the beams with difficulty. Omega's right hand which carried his sword flew by, trying to decapitate me. I ducked just in time but was hit by a Rekkoha beam. Because of my Defense Form, I survived this hit. I had only about 15% of my HP left. I ran forward once again and dashed to avoid his hands. I felt extremely fatigued, but I had to keep going. As I dashed towards Omega, an idea sprung into my mind. If I wanted to survive, I would have to stay in Defense Form. My attacks would do practically nothing, but _his _attacks, on the other hand...

I switched weapons to my Hero Chain and also switched from dashing to running. I twisted my body around and felt a sharp pain. I ignored it and thrust my chain to attach it to Omega's sword. Once I confirmed that it was successful, I grinned and ran towards Omega as fast as I could, before he could figure out my plan.

"What exactly do you think you'll accomplish by pulling my sword around?" Omega asked, laughing.

I smiled slyly and glanced at my special move meter. I had plenty of it left, all thanks to getting hit by my ultimate move. I jumped towards Omega's face and right as he was about to activate his laser beams, I executed my Shadow Dash technique, which allowed me to become ethereal while dashing, and air-dashed right through his head, pulling the Hero Chain with me. As I exited out of his head, I solidified at the right moment. I pulled my Hero Chain with all my might and stabbed Omega's head with his own sword. Because it was shaped in the shape of a cross, I split his head in half.

Satisfied with the end result, I fell to my knees. I felt exhausted after this long fight. I looked at the timer and noticed that there was only 180 seconds left. We were fighting for 27 minutes? I couldn't believe it. I was glad that the fight was over with me as the victor. However...

I did not receive a victory message.

I took a look at Omega and saw his body shaking violently. He began to shine brightly white and grew in size. I stared in disbelief and stood back up, holding my abdomen with my left arm. It wasn't possible... A duel avatar having the ability to revive themselves _twice_?! Omega finished his transformation and turned around. He was much bigger this time around, definitely bigger than the Green King. My body trembled in terror once I realized how much stronger this form will be compared to his first and second forms. I slowly pulled out my Hero Sword again and tried to stand defiantly.

_Here we go again..._


	13. Chapter 13 - Revivification

What stood in front of me was a massive Burst Linker, Omega. I defeated him twice now, and this was his third form. Coincidentally, this third form had three heads. Two heads as shoulders and one head in the middle. The one on my left was red and had a similar shape to my helmet. In its hand was a green sword much larger than his previous forms' sword. It was odd how this room was big enough for this giant duel avatar. Omega's left head was blue and also looked similar to my helmet. What it wielded was an enormous blue arm cannon. In the middle of the two giant heads was a smaller and skinnier head and body. His face was an actual face this time, except that it lacked human features. His legs were also huge, the one on my left red with a white boot and the one on my right blue with a white boot.

"O-Omega?" asked a voice from the crowd, "Is th-that really you?"

"Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" he said loudly. His voice was distorted, as if there were three people talking at once.

"Just making sure, that's all..."

I pulled myself together and took a look at the time. Only twenty seconds has passed. My goal was to avoid all of his attacks _and _reduce his HP to the same as mine for the draw. The only thing that concerned me was if I could actually do that. After fighting Omega for twenty seven straight minutes, I didn't have much left in me to keep fighting.

"C'mon Omega," I said weakly, "Let's dance."

"Are you serious? You're so weak and frail right now!" he laughed.

I took a step forward and gasped in pain. He was right. I was in no condition to keep on fighting.

"Who knew that the God of Destruction could be defeated so easily?"

"..._What_?!" I yelled in anger.

"You heard me."

"I've defeated you twice already!" I shouted.

"You haven't even won once yet. Your win/loss record hasn't even changed."

I stood still, shocked at what Omega said. Even though I've reduced his HP down to zero twice already... I haven't actually won yet? That means I'd have to keep killing him until I defeated his final form! Omega was truly... how did Silver Crow say it? Outrageous? Yes, that was it. Omega was definitely outrageous!

"That's insane..." I managed to say.

"I have to give you some credit, though. Nobody has ever defeated my first two forms yet. It's unfortunate that you'll be eliminated by my third."

"Not your last form, huh?"

Omega didn't respond with words. Instead, he pointed his arm cannon at me and prepared to shoot. I just stood, ready for the inevitable defeat. Omega shot his cannon and a giant ball of energy was sent towards me. I was hit directly and was pushed backwards. I didn't fall or stumble or anything. I remained standing with my armor crumbling. I took a look at my HP bar and saw that it was at its most minimal amount. My body reverted back to a dull red as I fell to my knees.

_How disappointing... To see the Red Hero fall like this._ I thought.

Omega shot at me again, but this time, I was ready for it. I forced myself to roll away and barely dodged the shot.

_Not yet. I'm not going to lose. Not now!_

I gritted my teeth and stood back up, feeling pain all over my body. I couldn't win, so I had to make this a draw by having dropping his HP to the same as mine. But was it possible with such little time left? Another idea sprung into my mind, involving the Hero Chain once again.

"You're still resisting?" Omega said in disbelief.

"I don't plan on losing," I weakly said.

"Such brave words..."

Omega's middle eyes started to glow. I immediately responded by dashing forward, surprised that my thrusters still worked. I dashed at the perfect time; Omega's eyes shot a lightning fast laser beam out and hit where I was previously standing. Omega was shocked at my reaction time and moved his right arm, the one that held the sword. He rose it up into the air and slammed it to the ground. I responded by jumping as high as I could before it could hit the ground.

The room we were in shook violently as if an earthquake had occurred. Before I landed, I air-dashed closer to Omega. Because of his sheer size, he couldn't do much close-range. If I moved closer, the only thing he could possibly do was shoot more laser beams out of his eyes. At least, that's what I assumed. He could have more moves up his sleeves- erm, heads.

I took a look at the time and saw that there were only 60 seconds remaining. Could I do it? Omega lifted his right leg and I sensed that he was going to try to stomp me. I jumped and used my thrusters as support to jump higher. I then air-dashed to his middle face and punched it with my fists as hard as I could. Omega was completely caught off guard by my relentless punching. I stayed firmly on his head by gripping with my left arm.

I pulled out my Hero Chain and thrust it into his right eye, causing a scream to emerge from Omega.

"Energy Chain!" I said with a large amount of effort.

Thanks to my punching, my special move meter went up a substantial amount. Energy Chain was a special move that allowed me to drain a percentage of my opponent's HP bar as long as the my Chain was still embedded in them. Since Omega couldn't do a single thing to pull it out, his HP went down drastically. I kept punching him with my left fist to make my special move gauge drain slower.

_Thirty seconds..._

Omega's HP bar and mine were moving closer and closer to the same point. If I kept this up, we would both be at 30% health. Omega frantically tried to move once he realized what I was doing. I continued to relentlessly attack him.

_Fifteen seconds..._

Omega's body shimmered and disappeared as my HP bar almost met his. I fell and landed on my feet, making sure I didn't lose my HP. All I needed to do now was to hit him with just one shot. I switched to my Hero Gun and scanned my surroundings for Omega.

_Five seconds.._.

Omega shimmered back behind me and I shot the moment I saw him. The energy pellet flew through the air and hit him square in the face. His HP met mine at the very last second. Omega attempted to shoot me with his giant arm cannon, but was too late. The timer had already hit zero the moment my shot met his face. The duel ended as a draw.

I sighed and linked out, unaware of Omega's screams of disappointment due to my extreme fatigue.

* * *

I returned home completely exhausted and headed straight to my bed. I threw myself onto it and felt a wave of comfort come over me. Omega... will he appear in his third form when we meet again? He reverted back to his white form after transforming to his second after he beat Silver Crow, so he must've returned back to normal. I felt relieved, but then annoyed. That means I would have to defeat those two forms again. It was already a pain in the ass to get to his third form once! I groaned in misery at the thought of this.

I needed the endurance to get past all of these forms. I had to prepare myself for at least four. He could have more, considering the fact that he's the most overpowered Burst Linker I have ever met. I wonder how big his fourth form could be...

Even though it was only the early afternoon, I fell into a deep slumber, exhausted by the eventful time in the Accelerated World.

I dreamt about a various amount of things. Kuroyukihime appeared first, moving her lips but no sound came out. There was also a dark liquid on her school uniform, but I wasn't sure of what it was. She disappeared in a wisp of smoke and Silver Crow replaced her. He sprouted his wings and flew into the sky, disappearing the same way Kuroyukihime vanished. Omega then materialized into place. He transformed into his golden state and then his giant three-headed form. The heads on his shoulders fell off and then Omega himself crumbled. What stood in his place was my duel avatar, Red Hero. He stared at me with blood red eyes. Was this an evil inside of me? Before I could think some more about that question, he was blown away. The last thing to appear was a slim figure sitting on a throne. I couldn't see this person very well since they were blinding me with a bright white light.


	14. Chapter 14 - Destination

**The Second Day**

I awoke to find the sun shining through my window and into my eyes. I squinted my eyes and slowly sat up.

_What a strange dream... _I thought to myself.

I checked the time to see that it was 6:30! This was the latest I've ever woken up! Was I really that exhausted from yesterday? I panicked and quickly got ready for school. I was more rushed than I have ever been in my life! I put on my school uniform at top speed without ripping anything and raced out the front door. I didn't even have enough time to get toast. I sighed at the thought of no breakfast while walking to school. If Kuroyukihime were here, she'd probably foresee this and bring me food...

Thankfully, I made it to school on time without much trouble. Entering my first class, I saw Olive Driver waving me over to him.

"What is it?" I asked.

"That was a fantastic duel you had! I watched the entire thing!" he exclaimed.

"Oh? Th-Thanks, I guess."

"The best part was when you hooked his sword and sliced his head in half with it!"

I chuckled anxiously and sat down in front of him. Come to think of it, I didn't know his real name!

"Uhm, what exactly is your name?" I asked awkwardly.

"Y-You don't know my name?" he said with a downcast expression.

"Sorry! Since you're Olive Driver and all..."

"I understand. I'm Nabeto Miyazaki!"

"Ahh. Nice to meet you, Miyazaki."

"I'm glad you finally know my name, Lan-kun," Miyazuki said with a smile.

"I am too," I replied. I guess?

"Anyway, going back to the subject, that battle was amazing!"

"What'd the other spectators think?"

"There were a bunch that were rooting for Omega and another bunch that rooted for you. I didn't notice anyone from Nega Nebulous, though."

"I see."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

I assumed that Ash Roller was there, but I didn't pay enough attention to the spectators to see him among them. Not only that, but he could have disguised himself since he was spectating. I hoped I achieved what I promised to do, and that was to show them my strength. Did I show them my strength or did I show them how well I could endure against such a tough opponent? My question was answered by Miyazuki.

"You know, Lan-kun, you showed us how much strength you really had. I don't think any of us other Burst Linkers could have taken down Omega's second form, except for the Kings."

"I didn't want to just take down his second form. I wanted to defeat all of his forms," I said ambitiously.

"I think if you fight more Burst Linkers and level up, you'll be able to do that!" Miyazuki suggested.

"I bet Omega's doing the exact same thing. He wants to defeat me too, you know."

Before we could talk any more, our teacher came in. We figured we'd talk more after school as our teacher taught today's lesson.

* * *

After school, Miyazuki suggested that I talked to Ash Roller, a member of his Legion.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"I heard he helped Silver Crow with getting his wings back. Maybe he could help you beat Omega."

"I'll try it. Thanks, Miyazuki," I said, leaving for home.

"No problem! Kick Omega's ass once for all!" he said, waving.

I waved back and grinned. I initially did not like Miyazuki because of who he was last year. After I defeated him during that fateful day, he became less irritating. He still joked around about Kuroyukihime and continued to flirt with her, though. Despite that, he became a friend. I was glad I had someone to talk to in school while Kuroyukihime was gone.

I made it home and immediately went to my room. I sat down on my bed and then accelerated. Hitting the matchmaking option, I looked for Ash Roller. It was impossible to go to the Green Legion's area to look for him, since I knew nobody there and it wasn't likely for him to log in at the same time as me.

Finally finding his name, I hit it and requested a duel just like yesterday. The world around me dissolved and was replaced by a post-apocalyptic area. This was where I dueled Black Lotus for the first time.

I pulled out my Recoil Rod and listened for the sound of Ash Roller's bike. Using the guide cursor and the direction of the sound, Ash Roller was probably the easiest opponent to find. I ran closer towards the rumbling of his bike while destroying things in my way. I did this to fill up my special move gauge so I could use my Charged Shot to send him flying backwards. Ash Roller appeared from around the corner and charged me head on. I began to glow faintly, charging energy into my Recoil Rod.

I don't think Ash Roller prepared for this fight because I unleashed the power of the Recoil Rod on him and sent him flying backwards... again. I quickly ran towards where he landed and found him under his bike. _Again_.

"You never learn, do you?" I chuckled.

"**Hey, hey, you!**" he cried.

I shook my head in amusement as I walked over to get the bike off of him. To my surprise, Ash Roller didn't attack me.

"You dueled me for a reason, right?" he asked.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"A friend of mine told me that you were going to duel me for some advice."

_Why didn't I ask Miyazuki if he had Ash Roller on his contact list so he could tell him to meet in the Unlimited Field? _I thought to myself, annoyed.

"So, well you help me beat Omega?"

"I can't believe I'm helping people outside of my Legion!" Ash Roller exclaimed.

"Is that a no?"

"No, it's a yes, dumbass!" Ash Roller said, "Let's go to the Unlimited Field. We'll meet in your area."

"Alright. Sounds like a plan."

We ended the duel with a draw and linked out. I immediately accelerated again, but this time, I went to the Unlimited Field. The world remained in its lush forest stage. Although I didn't mind this at all, I did enjoy a bit of variety. I stood and leaned against a nearby tree, waiting for Ash Roller. Nega Nebulous's territory was quite large despite its recent revival. I wasn't sure how I'll be able to defend it with just Silver Crow.

My thoughts were interrupted as I heard a roaring engine in the distance. This was no doubt Ash Roller himself, racing towards Suginami. I jumped to the top of the tree to locate his approximate location. I noticed a flurry of grass and dust to the northeast and jumped from tree to tree in that location. I enjoyed having a slim duel avatar because it was possible for me to do things I was able to do in real life. Well, I couldn't exactly jump from tree to tree...

"Hey! Up here!" I shouted over his noisy engine.

Ash Roller stopped in his tracks and looked for my in the sky. I jumped from my tree and landed beside his bike.

"Well, where are we headed?" I asked.

"Just get on the damn bike."

I complied by sitting behind him.

"**Hold me tight!**" he said.

"W-What?" I stammered, not understanding.

Ash Roller revved up his bike which in turn produced quite a sound that would match the loudness of Omega's scream when I pierced his eye. If that hurt in a normal duel, I wondered how much it would hurt here, since pain is twice as painful?

Ash Roller performing a jump snapped me back to reality. I tightly hugged him as we soared through the air. Was this the sensation that Silver Crow felt every time he leaped into the air with his wings out? I wanted to experience that feeling myself.

I didn't understand why my thoughts were wandering at a moment like this, where my avatar's life was in constant danger of falling off and suffering severe head trauma. I just didn't know what to say to Ash Roller. If I asked him where we were going, he would probably just respond with something rude and blunt. I just stayed quiet for the remainder of the ride since Ash Roller wasn't bent on talking to me either.

For the first time, I took a look from behind Ash Roller and noticed a giant tower in front of us.

"What exactly is that?" I asked.

"The Old Tokyo Tower. This is where my _parent _lives."

"Who's you're _parent_?"

"She's known as ICBM or Icarus for being the first Burst Linker to touch the sky. Y'know, before Crow came along."

"I have no idea who she is," I said with an awkward expression.

"You're such a dumbass!" he suddenly cried.

I laughed nervously and just kept the conversation at that. As we neared the Old Tokyo Tower, I wondered how anyone could live up there. Was it possible to even live in this world? If I stayed for one second in the real world, roughly sixteen hours would pass in here. I wondered how long one year would be in this world...

Getting closer to the tower, I asked Ash Roller, "How exactly are we going to get up there?"

"With my bike! How else will we get up there?"

"W-What?! We're going to-"

Before I could finish my sentence, Ash Roller accelerated to top speed and began to climb the tower. Me, I just screamed my head off, afraid of falling off. If I fell off here, I would surely be dead and coming here would have been for nothing. Then again, I could just climb it if I fell, but I wasn't sure how I would be able to accomplish that.

A strong wind began to blow as we passed the middle of the tower.

"**Shit! Shit **this wind!" Ash Roller cried. I could barely understand him over the roar of the gusting wind.

Nearing the top, the wind blew the hardest. I was certain that I would fall off here, and I did. The wind was so fierce that it broke my hold on Ash Roller and flung me off the bike! In response, I pulled out my Hero Chain and thrust it towards the edge of the top. It embedded itself to the edge and I pulled myself in as fast as I could without losing to the wind. I noticed Ash Roller peer over the edge and called my name.

Before I could respond, he grabbed the end of my chain and yanked it as hard as he could. I was pulled forward and flew to the top of the tower. I fell on top of Ash Roller's bike and toppled it over.

"My bike!" he screamed.

"It's fine," I managed to say.

"I'll kill you!"

I laughed nervously as I got off his bike and put it back up. Thankfully, it wasn't badly damaged. I only twisted the left handlebar, but that was enough for Ash Roller to go into a frenzy and started choking me.

"Ash-kun, that's not very nice," said a gentle female voice.

Ash roller immediately got off of me and stood straight and tall. He put his right hand over his forehead in a saluting fashion and apologized.

"I'm sorry, master. I will try to control myself next time!"

I sat up and saw a strange duel avatar in front of me. What caught me off guard was the fact that she sat in a wheelchair! Also, she wore a light pink dress, which was odd because no duel avatar I had ever seen wore clothes. She also had a light pink sunhat on that went with the dress nicely. Oddly enough, her avatar's color was all blue, indicating that she was a close-quarters fighter. She also had long flowing blue hair with a human-like face to go along with it. Its expression remained static, though. The only thing that wasn't blue were her bright yellow eyes.

"You must be the legendary God of Destruction, Red Hero," she observed.

"Y-Yes. That's who I am," I replied.

"He wants to train under you just like Silver Crow has," Ash Roller said in a respectful tone. Where did his rudeness go?

"Oh! That's certainly interesting. Is this true?" she asked me.

"Yeah. I want to get stronger!" I said with confidence.

"I see. So that's how it is," she said mysteriously.

With his mission accomplished, Ash Roller waved goodbye and got back on his bike. I wasn't sure if his bike had enough suspension to survive the fall back down the tower. To my surprise, Ash Roller drove to a return point, which was on top of the tower! Maybe this was a reason why his _parent _lived up here. It was close to the sky and it had a return point.

"I'm sorry for not introducing myself," said the Burst Linker, "I am Sky Raker. It's nice to meet you, Hero-san."

I stood up and said, "It's nice to meet you too. Ash Roller said you helped Silver Crow with something as well?"

"Ahh, yes. It was quite recent, actually. I helped Crow-san with obtaining his wings."

So he really did lose them. How, I wasn't so sure myself. Was there anything in this world that had the kind of power to take another Burst Linker's things?

"So what did you give him?" I asked.

"I gave him my wings. But that wasn't all of it."

"Oh?"

"I also taught him..."

I walked closer to hear better. Her gentle and soft voice was being carried away by the wind.

"Incarnation."


	15. Chapter 15 - Incarnation

"Incarnation?" I asked, "What's that?"

"The willpower of the mind," Sky Raker answered. Unfortunately, I was still very confused.

"I don't understand."

"It's the very idea that moves my wheelchair."

Sky Raker showed me what she meant by moving around in her wheelchair. I still didn't understand. How was moving a wheelchair without using your hands supposed to make me stronger?

"You're moving it with your mind?"

"In a sense, yes. That is Incarnation."

"If you can move with your mind, can you become stronger with your mind?"

Sky Raker chuckled and said, "In a way. Incarnation is much stronger than you think it is."

Still confused as to what this Incarnation thing was, I shook my head to clear it.

"Willpower, huh?" I muttered.

I pulled out my Hero Sword and activated it. The familiar green triangular blade that aided me in every single one of my battles appeared instantly. If Incarnation was the power of the mind, then didn't I already have a sense of what it was? Remembering back to my battle with Olive Driver, I had willed my sword to become something else. Also looking back at the battle with Black Lotus, I also split my sword in half with just my mind.

"I think I already might have a grasp of this Incarnation thing," I said.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Sky Raker asked, confused.

"I was able to change my Hero Sword into different weapons using willpower alone."

"You have the basic idea, but you did not make your weapons through Incarnation."

"I don't understand." This Incarnation thing was really confusing. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

"The Incarnation System is difficult to understand at first. Don't worry, I'll show you the way," Sky Raker said reassuringly.

"Alright," I sighed. Looks like I'll be spending a night or two in the Unlimited Field.

"Before we can start, you should get some rest. Getting up here must have been tiresome."

"You have no idea."

Sky Raker chuckled and led me to her small house. It had a very simple design. I wondered if she built this herself or if she had help from her Legion. What Legion did she belong to, anyway? I'd have to ask her later.

Sky Raker opened the door and rolled in. I followed suit, somewhat wary of what was inside. In front of us stood a table with two chairs beside each other. To my left, there was a kitchen. A kitchen? I didn't know you could make food in this world. I looked to my right and saw a door, probably leading to Sky Raker's bedroom. I wondered where I would be sleeping...

"Are you hungry?" she asked me.

"Uhm, a little bit. Some food wouldn't hurt," I replied.

She nodded and rolled into the kitchen. I pulled a chair back and sat down, staring at the insides of the house. There were pictures of various objects on the walls as well as flowers in flower pots. I didn't know that the Accelerated World could feel so... _real._ I've always been fighting other Burst Linkers, unaware of the beauty of my surroundings. An object in this world was just something I could destroy to fill up my special attack gauge. I didn't realize that they could be used to decorate houses, or if there were even houses in this world.

Sky Raker came back with a bowl of steaming soup, along with a spoon, on her lap. She handed me the meal and I took it graciously. Since my duel avatar was probably the most human-like duel avatar in existence, I didn't have to worry about not having a mouth. I took the spoon and began to eat the soup. To my surprise, it tasted wonderful! I expected something that didn't taste at all like food.

"How is it?" she asked.

"Absolutely amazing!" I exclaimed.

She looked happy just seeing me eating her meal. I wonder if Silver Crow received the same meal, and if he did, did he enjoy it as much as me? I ate the meal slowly, enjoying the taste as much as I could. After finishing, I helped Sky Raker clean up in the kitchen. After doing so, she explained what the Incarnation System was in the most confusing manner. I didn't realize that learning something would be so difficult.

"In simple terms, Incarnation is the overriding of reality with your mind and heart."

"That makes it easier to understand," I chuckled.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if I could pull it off. Throughout my entire Accelerated World career, the thought of not being able to pull anything off never occurred to me. I was always moving forward, demolishing everything in my way. But now I had to be more careful if I wanted to become stronger to defeat Omega.

From what I learned, Incarnation attacks were attacks born from my heart. They could be expressed in four ways in this world: through an increase in attack, increase in defense, an extension of a weapon or limb, or incredible movement speed. Not only that, but not every Burst Linker had the potential to acquire all four of those Incarnation skills. I wasn't even sure if I could manage to learn one!

"We'll try tomorrow, okay?" Sky Raker said.

"Yeah," I said, a little nervous.

"There's no need to worry," she said gently, rolling over towards me. She put in her hand on my shoulder and instinctively moved backwards.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried. Was this the part where I learned that there was a great evil inside me?

"You're... warm."

"Eh?!" I cried. Sky Raker confused me more and more with each passing minute!

"Duel avatars don't emit their own heat, at least, not without fire. So unless there's a fire burning inside of you..."

"I... see. Well, there isn't a fire burning inside of me, so don't worry about that!" I chuckled.

Sky Raker laughed along with me. I didn't think that I would enjoy myself so much in this world. Sky Raker showed me that this world wasn't just for fighting, but to bond with friends as well.

Eventually, it was time to rest up for tomorrow, so Sky Raker led me to her room. It was somewhat small and had only one bed. I didn't expect more since she lived alone. To make myself more comfortable, I borrowed a cushion and set it on the ground. I sat on it and leaned against the wall. It definitely felt nice, even if I weren't in a bed.

"Erm, Hero-san, can you help me out here?" Sky Raker asked.

I looked up and noticed her trying to get out of her wheelchair and onto the bed. I nearly forgot that she even had one in the first place! I stood up and walked over to where she was and helped her up to the bed. It was then that I finally realized why she used a wheelchair. It was because she didn't have legs! I thought that maybe she was injured in a battle or was just paralyzed... Was it possible for duel avatars to become paralyzed? In a battle maybe...

"What happened to your legs?" I asked, "Sorry if I'm being rude."

"No, it's fine. I'll tell you the story of how I lost my legs," she replied.

I smiled and sat back down on the cushion I laid out for myself and leaned against the wall again. I felt the moonlight from the window above Sky Raker's bed illuminate me in the dark room as I closed my eyes. I've never fallen asleep in the Accelerated World before, I wondered what it would feel like.

"You know, I told Silver Crow this story too. I'm surprised that I have to help the members of Nega Nebulous get stronger!" she giggled.

I opened my eyes and saw that she had her dress pinned up against the wall and that she was under the covers, staring at me.

"Sorry," I said, chuckling as well.

Sky Raker sat up and continued to look at me, ready to tell her story.

"Let's see... When I started off as a Burst Linker, I had a certain Enhanced Armament. It allowed me to soar in the sky for a limited time, propelling me to as high as a hundred meters. As I leveled up, I used my level-up bonuses on jumping higher. I reached level 8 before long and was obsessed with flying in the sky. It was a dream that devoured my soul; it went so far as to cutting off my own legs to decrease my weight..."

"Who cut them off?" I asked.

"A friend and my Legion master who understood my obsession. I had her cut off my legs with her two blades after I said some horrible things to her..."

"Two blades... Black Lotus, huh?"

"Yes. She was my one and only friend."

Was Sky Raker the friend that Kuroyukihime had supposedly lost a bond with? Like I had told Kuroyukihime, the past was the past. There was no reason for them to not be friends right now. Before I reform that bond, however, I would have to learn Incarnation first.

"Why didn't your legs grow back after you came back here?" I asked.

"I made sure that they didn't grow back."

I was shocked at how it was even possible to do that. Was that the power of the Incarnation System? Her resolve was so strong that she even stopped the system from growing her legs back.

"You really wanted to fly, huh?"

"It was maddening, to want to fly so badly. I can't reach for that dream anymore, so I gave Silver Crow my wings to help him fly," Sky Raker explained. "What do you dream of doing?"

I was about to answer with 'To be come the strongest' but then hesitated. I had never thought of dreaming of doing anything, except to fight and win my battles.

"I guess what I really want is to have friends. That's why I accepted the Brain Burst program from Black Lotus. And I've been making friends ever since I received this program!" I said, smiling.

"That's good. I'm happy for you!"

I yawned loudly, indicating that I was exhausted. Sky Raker said that it would be a good time to sleep now, so I dozed off. It was quite relaxing, despite the absence of a bed. The last thing I felt before falling into a peaceful slumber was the cool breeze.

* * *

As the Red Hero fell asleep in front of me, I couldn't help but notice his beauty in the moonlight. He had his right knee up with one arm draped over it while he slept sitting up. His crimson red showed a tint blue as the light illuminated him. His golden hair swayed slowly and silently with the breeze that blew in. His human-like face was full of content and peace as he slept.

Earlier, I had told him that he felt warm. It didn't feel like heat from a fire, but rather, it felt like heat coming off a human. It was rather strange, as I had never experienced this feeling before in this world. Maybe it was a quality of Hero-san that nobody knew about, not even Saa-chan. She gave birth to quite a Burst Linker!

I was going to teach him how to use the Incarnation System tomorrow, but I wasn't sure how. For Crow-san, it was a little easier since his desire was to fly in the sky. Hero-san's is to have friends, but what else did he want? It looks like I'll have to figure that out tomorrow.


	16. Chapter 16 - Conceptualization

I woke up from a peaceful slumber to the sun's rays shining in my eyes. I blinked slowly and wondered why I was sitting up instead of lying down in bed. Looking at the blue duel avatar, who was sleeping on the bed in front me, I immediately remembered where I was. It was hard to believe that sleeping in this world felt the same to sleeping in the real world. How much time had passed since I arrived here? I was in my room in the real world, so it didn't matter.

I stood up and stretched while yawning somewhat loudly, which caused Sky Raker to stir. I walked over to where she was and poked her face gently, trying to wake her up to start my training.

"It's time to get up, Raker," I said.

"Uhn... I know, Hero-san..." she yawned sleepily.

After successfully waking her up, I helped her put on her pink dress and carried her to her wheelchair. After thanking me, we went to the kitchen. Sky Raker said that it would be best if I ate breakfast, since it was going to be a very, very long day. The soup from last night was made again, but I didn't mind since it tasted really good.

After that, we went outside where I would finally start my Incarnation training. Sky Raker explained to me the basic fundamentals of Incarnation again, making sure I understood what to do.

"Now, when Silver Crow started doing this, I pushed him off the Tokyo Tower!" she said, laughing.

"A-Are you going to push me off too?!" I exclaimed.

"Depends," she replied mysteriously.

"I-I'd like to stay up here for the time being. Then... Then we'll see."

"Alright. Good luck, Hero-san!"

I smiled and turned away from Sky Raker. I closed my eyes and began to think about what was in my heart. What did I want? Above all, I wanted to protect the bonds I shared with my friends and their bonds. I had a sword to fight anyone off, but I didn't have a shield. A powerful, unbreakable shield was what I needed right now. The Shield Boomerang was more of an offensive shield, since it didn't do much to protect against physical attacks. I nearly lost a duel before because it broke against a blue-colored opponent. That was when I realized that the Shield Boomerang was only useful against projectiles.

I focused hard and imagined a shield in front of me. Was it the same as making my Hero Sword into a different weapon? It felt different since there wasn't a weapon I was holding. I was making a shield with my heart and mind this time.

I opened my eyes and saw a small pale blue oval-shaped shield in front of me. It flickered from a pale-blue to a white. Sky Raker immediately noticed this and wheeled herself in front of me, observing this shield. She poked it with her index finger and it shattered!

"Try again!" she encouraged.

I closed my eyes and focused on making another shield like that. I reopened my eyes and saw the exact same thing from before. She poked it again and it shattered just like last time.

"You're not imagining hard enough."

And so, I spent the entire day doing this. Unfortunately, the results were pretty bad. I had managed to create a small shield, but it never withstood a poke. I never knew that Incarnation would be so difficult! Thankfully, I was able to take the night off and sleep. Sky Raker told me how it took only seven days for Silver Crow to get back up to the tower. I don't think I'll be able to accomplish this in less than seven days!

* * *

The second day came by and it was almost the same as the first. It got easier as time went on, despite all the failures of a shield I've made. Sky Raker told me to focus on one mental image instead of multiple ones. I did as she said and the results got a little better. My oval-shaped shield was able to withstand a poke now. But once she jabbed harder, it shattered again.

"My mind is worn out," I complained.

"Keep going!" she said in a commanding tone.

Instead of thinking about a normal shield that I couldn't summon, I thought about the shield I was using and tried to reinforce it. I had to remind myself what I was using this for. It was to protect everyone that I loved from harm. I needed it to become stronger!

The second day ended with better results. My shield was able to withstand a strong finger jab. Once Sky Raker landed a punch, it shattered to pieces again. It was kind of to be expected, to be honest. I was sure I wasn't going to be able to draw out a successful shield in two days.

"That's not bad. Let's try again tomorrow!" Sky Raker said enthusiastically. I nodded in response and yawned, ready to rest for the night.

We ate dinner together this time, eating the same soup that I was served. As usual, it tasted fantastic! We went back to her room and assumed our sleeping positions once more. Before I fell asleep, I made sure to ask Sky Raker a question that was lingering in my mind for quite some time.

"Raker, what's Black Lotus to you?" I asked suddenly.

I received no answer. Had she already fallen asleep?

"She's my best friend. I wish she could see beyond the past and rekindle our friendship," she sighed. "What about you?"

"W-Well..." I stumbled.

"Hmm?"

"I love her a lot. She's one of the people I want to protect!"

Sky Raker giggled as if I said something funny. Wait, did I say something funny?

"I see. You'll do a good job now that you're learning Incarnation, right?"

"Of course!" I said with a smile.

And with that, I experienced another peaceful slumber in this world.

* * *

The days went by quickly, to my surprise. The third and fourth days were of progress, as I was able to move with the shield still intact. The fifth and sixth day were slower, since they were just me refining the shield. It was able to withstand a few strong punches from Sky Raker, which was amazing since she was specialized in close-quarters combat!

On the seventh day, my shield did something completely unexpected. I started off by summoning it like usual and letting Sky Raker punch it. She started off the day by punching it as hard as she could, believing that if she kept doing that, the shield would eventually get used to getting hit hard. It seems she was right, since my shield didn't break this time. Instead, it absorbed her blow and stopped her punch altogether. I had assumed that that was the most it would do, but I was wrong.

My shield evolved through the course of these seven days. At first, it was a weak pale-blue color that flickered white. However, it had changed when I worked on refining it on the fifth day. It was slightly larger now, still oval-shaped, but it flickered from a midnight blue to a crimson red. Moving on to the seventh day, when Sky Raker attacked it with full force, the shield completely stopped her attack. Not only that, but it sent out a ball of energy as a response to the powerful attack. She was taken by surprise and flew out of her wheelchair.

"Raker!" I cried while running to where she landed, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. That just stung a little..."

I helped her up and carried her back to her wheelchair. After making sure she was okay, I summoned my shield again. She punched it again, but not with all of her strength this time. My shield didn't respond the same as last time, however. It just stopped her fist from moving closer to me.

"Amazing! It seems that your shield only responds with retaliation if it's a threatening hit."

"Sweet!"

"The problem is if you can summon it in time to block an attack..."

"Let's try it," I suggested.

The remainder of the seventh day was me trying to summon my shield in time to block Sky Raker's punches. Unfortunately, I was only able to block her attacks 50% of the time.

"Should we spend another day on this?" she asked.

I sat down on the grass and thought about it for a bit. Another day wouldn't hurt, but I kind of wanted to do other things now that I was able to execute an Incarnation attack efficiently.

"No, I think I'll be fine. Thanks for all your help!" I said cheerfully.

"It's not a problem! Come back anytime if you need help with other things."

"I will."

I began to walk towards the return point, but was stopped by Sky Raker suddenly.

"Before you go, I have to warn you about some things about using the Incarnation System in battle."

"W-Warn me?"

"First, use Incarnation _only _when your opponent uses it. Do you understand?" she said with sudden harshness.

"I understand."

"Second, Incarnation attacks are born from the hole in your heart. Using it more often will pull you closer to the hole's darkness."

"Why didn't you tell me this _before _we started this?!" I exclaimed.

"It's information more suitable for post-Incarnation training," she said calmly.

I sighed and scratched the side of my face. "Is that all?"

"Lastly, give it a name so you can summon it easier."

"That also would have been helpful earlier..." I said, crestfallen.

Sky Raker chuckled and patted my shoulder, reassuring me. I couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"Very well. I'll give it a name. Let's see..." I said, thinking for a few moments. "Guard Shell. That's what I'll call it."

"Excellent! You're all set for the next fight against Omega."

I nodded and hugged her, thanking her for what she's given me. She seemed surprised about the hug, since I wasn't the kind of person who hugged other people. Well, I probably hugged people and crushed them in the process to end a duel. She returned the hug and I left with a wave, returning to the real world.

After returning, I fell backwards onto my bed, tired. I spent seven days in that world... Converting that to real-life time, I spent about 10 minutes or so sitting on my bed. Months in that world could possibly mean just an hour or so here! That means that my physical body would age differently compared to my mind. So I'm technically a bit older than all the other students in my classes!

I sighed a deep sigh and stared at the cloudy sky, deep in thought. I thought about various things, but it mostly revolved around Sky Raker. She was one of the kindest people I've met so far, and that was really awesome. I wanted her to rekindle her friendship with Kuroyukihime too, since Raker considered her as her best friend. Her one and only friend, actually. I guess I'll do that after I beat up Omega.

I wonder... Was Omega going through Incarnation training too? Or was he just power-leveling? I decided that I would do some leveling myself tomorrow, since I only learned Incarnation. I needed new techniques to execute, although I only used half of what my duel avatar held against Omega. I didn't pull out the Recoil Rod against him yet. Prepare yourself, Omega, because I'm going to defeat you this time!

(And there it is, Red Hero's Incarnation attack is identical to his MMX6 skill, Guard Shell. It won't be used until a little bit later, though.)


	17. Chapter 17 - Communication

**The Third Day**

I woke up on time the next morning, thankfully. I readied myself for school once again, washing myself and putting on the Umesato school uniform. I ate my regular breakfast of toast and milk and was about to walk out of the house when I received a message. Was it a note from my parents? I opened it up and read its contents.

_I hope you aren't moping too much without me around. How are you? I'm sending a message because I don't have time for a dive call right now. If you want to answer back with a call, feel free to do so. Not now, though. _

I smiled to myself when I noticed that it was from Kuroyukihime. I decided to call her later and tell her all about Omega and possibly my Incarnation training. During lunch? Or would after school be a better option? I didn't want to keep her waiting all day, though...

I debated on this while I walked to school. When I entered the school, I had my mind made up. I was going to call her during lunch. I entered my first class and wished that I had the ability to accelerate the clock.

* * *

Lunch time came around and I went to where I usually sat with Kuroyukihime on normal days. I couldn't help but reminisce of days where Kuroyukihime and I shared wonderful tales and had adventures of our own in this very area. Shortly after the Olive Driver 'incident', a second-year girl came by and confessed to Kuroyukihime! Both of their faces were beet red and I was flabbergasted! I chuckled to myself after recalling that warm memory.

I sat down and pulled up my contacts list and looked for Kuroyukihime. I found her almost instantly and called her, hoping that she wasn't busy. As I called her, the world around me disappeared as I dived into a different world. Dive calling was a nice way to get some face-time with your friends and family if they weren't exactly close enough to visit.

I appeared in my school avatar, except that I modified it a bit since last year. Instead of it resembling Mega Man, it was now a custom-made one. I made it look like my duel avatar as much as possible. It wasn't too difficult to remake. Except that the helmet was a killer, so I decided to just stick to the body parts.

Dive calls also had their own scenery, so you could pick what kind of environment suited you best. I only used two, a grassy field with a starry sky and a cozy living room. I chose the living room scenery and waited for Kuroyukihime to answer. As I waited, I took a look at the familiar room. It was a simple room with two slightly large reddish couches and a small table. A white light illuminated the place, but if I wanted to, I could set it to where there was a glass ceiling and the sun would be the light source.

After a few moments, another person materialized into the room. It was Kuroyukihime and she was using her school avatar. I hadn't seen that in quite a while, since I didn't spend much time in the school's network. She was surprised to see me in my Almost Red Hero outfit by the look of her eyes.

"Hello Kuroyukihime! It's been a while," I said with a smile.

"Hi Lan! It certainly has. How have you been doing?" she answered with her own smile.

We sat together on a comfortable couch and I told her what had happened in the past three days, except for the part where I learned Incarnation. If she was going to rekindle her bond with Sky Raker, I would have to keep that a secret to surprise her when she comes back.

"What I'm planning on doing today is defeating some Burst Linkers to level up once or twice," I finished.

"Sounds good. What Legion is Omega from again? White?"

"I think so. Silver Crow told me and he didn't seem sure of himself."

"Are you sure that he is reviving himself?" she asked with sudden concern.

"O-Of course. Why?" I replied, confused.

"There may be someone else doing it..."

"I don't understand."

"There's a Burst Linker in the White Legion that's capable of reviving others. Be wary of that Linker."

"What's their name?"

"..."

Kuroyukihime remained silent, which happened very rarely. Was this Burst Linker someone that she didn't want me to be interested in...?

"Is this Burst Linker... your _parent_?" I asked quietly.

"...Yes," she answered softly.

I drew her closer and hugged her with my right arm, comforting her. I could sense that she was in a great deal of pain, her almond-brown eyes showed that. Was her _parent _really that cruel to her? He or she couldn't have been an abusive adult, since that didn't fit the requirements for Brain Burst. Brain Burst has only existed for seven years and to be able to install it successfully, one must have had worn a Neuro Linker for the entirety of their lives.

"It's alright. I'm not going to betray you and go to the White Legion!" I said.

Kuroyukihime looked into my eyes and smiled. She rested her head on my shoulder and I buried my face in her hair. It smelled nice, even though we were in the virtual world.

"Enough of that," I said, "Tell me about your adventures in Okinawa."

She was more than happy to talk about Okinawa and began to ramble on about her misadventures with her friend Megumi. She was currently at the Henoko beach with Megumi, enjoying the sound of the waves and the relaxation of the warm beach weather. I didn't mind the rambling; I enjoyed listening to her wonderful voice that I had missed so much.

"Waah!" she suddenly cried.

I glanced over at her and saw her disappear. What happened? The connection was stable, from what I was aware of. Was she attacked? That could be the only possibility. Perhaps Omega was an internet genius and he had the tools to figure out who Black Lotus was; knowing that I was her partner, I would rush over to Okinawa and defeat him myself. But then I would get ambushed by his White Legion buddies and then-

Kuroyukihime reappeared, with her face beet red. That indicated that she certainly wasn't attacked by Omega.

"Are you okay?" I asked, stifling a chuckle.

"Y-Yes. Megumi just s-surprised me, that's all..." she said awkwardly.

"You shouldn't keep her waiting."

"You're right. I'll see you again soon, maybe?"

"Definitely. I'll call again soon," I said, grinning.

She smiled back and exited the call, leaving me to myself on the couch. I wondered what Megumi could have done to her to make her face red like that. They were on a beach, so the likelihood of Kuroyukihime wearing a bikini of some sorts was high.

The more I thought about it, the more perverted it seemed. Megumi didn't seem like the type to... to grope her, right? I pondered about that for a second before I realized I was heading into the perverted territory and quickly shook my head to clear it. I exited the room and returned to the real world.

I looked around the lounge area and found nobody here. Was I late?! I got up and looked around the cafeteria and found nobody here. I panicked and ran to my next class, hoping that my teacher would excuse me for being late for the first time!


	18. Chapter 18 - Preperation

After school, I began to eliminate a large number of Burst Linkers and attempted to reach my goal of level 8. I fought each battle with all of my power, finishing almost all of them within four minutes. I mostly challenged people who were at least level 7, so I gained points quickly. Unfortunately, there weren't that many Burst Linkers that existed who were above level 7, so it was difficult to find different opponents every time. Nonetheless, I managed to do it.

After finishing off my last opponent that would enable me to level up to level 7 safely, I received a system message. It read, _You have awakened the Active Form. _I switched to that form and my color changed from a crimson red to a blazing orange. The moment I began to move, I knew immediately what the effects were. I moved at twice my usual speed, but at what cost? After testing it out with a duel with Ash Roller (I nearly caught up to him in his bike), the drawback was the lack of defense. **  
**

I wondered what other kinds of forms my duel avatar was hiding. Was there one that increased my attack power while reducing my defense? If so, what were the requirements for unlocking it? There were mysteries about my duel avatar that _I_ couldn't even figure out.

I hit the option to level up and lost a ton of points. Literally. Thankfully, I already read the system message where it costed 2000 points to level up to level 7, so I fought more Burst Linkers to gain more points so I could keep my Brain Burst if I was defeated by a player the same level as I was. I had about 70 points remaining after leveling up. I'm glad I never made the mistake of leveling up when I had a little over the point requirement!

**(A/N: I'm not sure how many points are needed to level up from one level to the next, so I'm winging it right now.)**

I Linked Out and grabbed a snack. Fighting in Brain Burst did some nice calorie burning! Well, not really, but it certainly felt like it, especially when I was fighting everyone going all out.

Tomorrow, I figured I would take on Omega again after beating more Burst Linkers and getting closer to level 8. He must be working hard too, since he hasn't sent me a duel request yet. Not to mention the fact that he was furious about getting a stalemate against the God of Destruction. Also, why was I even given that nickname? That sounded more suitable for Omega, since I wasn't big and scary or anything. But then I recalled Kuroyukihime and Silver Crow saying that I was sometimes different during some fights. Perhaps that was the God of Destruction within me, huh?

After finishing my snack, I accelerated and scrolled through the matching list again. I looked for Omega to check up on how he was doing since our last fight. However, I couldn't find his name. I scrolled up and down through the entire list but couldn't find 'White Devil'. I did, however, find four names that I had never seen before. That was not unusual, since Burst Linkers could have given birth to new ones. These four were all level 8, though. Strange how I had just noticed these names, since three out of the four had no indications of what color they were.

_Fighting Fefnir, Fairy Leviathan, Hidden Phantom, and Sage Harpuia. Who are you four? Are they related somehow? _I thought as I examined their stats. They had certainly fought before, and their win/loss record were exceptional. No doubt, these were extraordinary Burst Linkers. But why did they only appear on the matching list _after _I leveled up to level 7? They were not there when I was level 6; I knew because I had previously scrolled through the matching list to find suitable opponents for me.

I decided to duel one of them and seek answers myself.

The world vanished around me as I transformed into Red Hero. What replaced the real world was a volcano-like stage, similar to the one where I first fought Olive Driver. I felt a strange sensation going on within me. It was something I couldn't put my finger on. Although the setting was the same as every other fight, the feeling differed. I felt as though I had fought this opponent before, even though I've never heard of them until now.

"So, you're Him, huh? You're the Red Hero?" asked a gruff male voice.

I glanced upwards and saw my opponent standing on a large stone spire. He jumped down and landed with a loud THUMP, shaking the ground slightly. As he walked closer, I saw him twitching. Was he scared? Or was it... excitement?

Fighting Fefnir was a red duel avatar with one large rectangular shaped gun on his right arm, held by his right hand. He had giant crimson red pouldrons on his shoulders that were nearly the size of his head. His helmet was shaped similarly to mine, except that his had two curved horns protruding outwards. He also had spiked portions on the ends of his vest-like breast-plate. His face... it was human-like. Not like Sky Raker's face, but more like mine! His eyes were as red as his body! He also wore boots that were similar to mine. I had the feeling that we were somehow related. His body looked like a tougher version of mine.

"It would seem so, yes," I merely replied. I wondered why he didn't call me the God of Destruction.

"I've been waiting so long to fight you again!" he roared while lunging at me with his left arm out.

_Again?! What did he_ mean?!

Before I could ask him, his left hand got a hold of my face and crushed me into the ground with an immense amount of force I had only experienced when fighting Kuroyukihime. I saw my HP bar go down 20% and I widened my eyes in horror. I kicked him away and jumped back, panting. For the first time ever since I stepped into the Accelerated World, I was _frightened._ I wasn't scared when Omega revived himself twice and emerged as a giant invincible Burst Linker. I wasn't even scared when I faced the Black King herself. But now, all I could feel was fear crawling up my spine.

"You're _scared _of me?! That's hilarious!" Fefnir howled.

_Pull yourself together, Hero. He's just like every other Burst Linker you've sliced in two. _I said to myself.

"This is going to be so much fun!" he roared as he charged me again.

I pulled out my Hero Sword and attempted to slice his arm off. I successfully landed a hit, yes. Did I slice his arm off? No. It remained on his body, as if it were sealed onto it, unable to escape from the powerful body that used it.

After landing the successful hit, I kept going and executed some combos. I was dishing out a good amount of damage for regular attacks, but Fefnir didn't seem to wear down one bit. His face was lit up, full of excitement, eager to fight me. Was this a true Burst Linker? One who continuously fought for the sake of enjoyment and leveling up? Was this the Black Lotus from before I changed her into the soft Burst Linker she is now?

Breaking my thoughts, Fefnir blasted me away with his large cannon. What he shot wasn't a laser or bullets, but rather, it was fire! I flew back, becoming wary of his rather large gun. He was a decent close-quarters fighter with a ginormous gun. He was like me again, a versatile duel avatar. Before I could say anything to him, he shot his gun again. A large fireball came out and I narrowly dodged it. It hit the wall and burned it to ashes, leaking lava into the battlefield. This was his arena, that's for sure. He was a fire-user in a lava pit, which meant that odds were definitely against me in this fight.

If I wanted to win this duel, I would need to stick my head into gear and focus on the battle! That's what she would tell me in a situation like this. The fear vanished from my eyes and body as I readied myself for his next assault. He sensed that I had changed and another gun emerged from his left hand, identical to the one on his right. He pointed both of them at me and shot fireballs in rapid succession. I ducked, jumped, and sidestepped every single one of them, making sure not to get even touched by one.

I slashed his torso with a backhand slash and then immediately followed up with a diagonal-downward cut, almost moving my sword back to its original position. With incredible speed, I brought the sword over my head and ended my triple-slash combo with an overhead swing. The three hits landed cleanly, taking out 15% of Fefnir's HP. He had about 65% of his HP remaining while I had 75%.

Fefnir responded by roaring and using most of his special attack gauge, indicating that he was going to do something big. I stepped back a few meters and watched as a faint white aura appeared around him. Then flames bursted from underneath him and engulfed him. I barely saw his shadow point his guns up and then realized his motives. I ran forward in an attempt to stop him, but the large fire that surrounded him blocked my path.

"Hyah, hyah!" he shouted as he shot balls of fire into the air.

I glanced up and noticed that they were falling back down! I dodged as many fireballs as I could, but was eventually overwhelmed by the numbers. I was hit multiple times and felt the burning sensation of the fire. I could even smell my avatar's armor being burned to a crisp. I had lost about 60% of my HP from this barrage alone, leaving with me 15% left. Although my special attack gauge was full, I wasn't sure of what special attack I should use to take out Fefnir.

An idea sprung into mind as I got up to dodge the remaining fireballs that rained from the sky. The ones that missed me created holes on the ground, causing more lava to spill out onto the battlefield. I switched my Hero Sword out and pulled out my Hero Gun. I used my famous Charged Shot attack paired with the Tractor Shot special attack. This move allowed my gun to stun my enemies while also swallowing some of their ranged attacks. It was perfect against Fefnir.

As I charged my gun, a small green orb appeared on the end. Fefnir extinguished the fire was was residing in and shot large fire streams at me. Luckily, I finished charging up my Tractor Shot and unleashed its power. The small green orb was released and captured some of the fire stream's heat, allowing it to grow bigger and stronger. Although it wasn't by much, it was enough to do significantly more. I dodged the fire streams it didn't capture and noticed Fefnir getting struck by my Tractor Shot square in the chest. His body writhed in pain as the electricity flowed through him, causing him to scream as well.

"Aargh!" he yowled.

Sparks of electricity erupted from his body as he fell to the ground, unable to move. Was he this weak to electricity? I walked towards him with my Hero Sword out, wary of his next attacks.

"I didn't realize... that you would use... something dirty... like that," he huffed.

"Calling it quits?" I asked.

"Yeah, I guess so. I can't do... nuthin' about this!"

"Before I finish you off, I want to ask you some things."

"I know you do... I can't explain everything... so I'll let our Master do it... He's better at talking... than all of us anyhow."

"Who's your master?"

"You'll see."

"Where do I go?"

"In the Unlimited Field... Harpuia will... find you... tomorrow..."

I nodded and finished off Fefnir, ending the duel with a win.

(I didn't expect the story to go this way, actually. I had planned to not include X and the Four Guardians, but since Omega is here, might as well. They'll be more important than I originally planned them to be.)


	19. Chapter 19 - Revelation

(Longer chapter, it explains a lot of things but not everything. Guh, it took 19 chapters to get the _actual_ plot in.)

**The Fourth Day**

I didn't know exactly when I should enter the Unlimited Field, since I forgot to ask Fefnir before I finished him off. I cursed under my breath as I walked to school that morning. Oh well, what's done is done. I'll do it after school.

To be honest, I didn't expect the Tractor Shot to be so effective. I assumed he would be paralyzed for a few seconds before charging me again with fury. Instead, Fefnir was stunned for the remainder of the duel, barely able to speak. Not to mention that he screamed in pain when the shot successfully struck him. Was that his weakness? That was weird, since there was no such thing as an elemental weakness in the Accelerated World. It was just that some colors were more resistant to hazards compared to others. Take Silver Crow for example, he's a silver-colored duel avatar. Silver-colored ones are incapable of getting decapitated and are immune to poison, but they are extremely vulnerable to electricity and corrosion.

Then again, I didn't follow the rules of the Accelerated World myself. I was a red duel avatar with the primary weapon of a sword. Every single red avatar that's ever existed has a ranged weapon of some sorts. Although the Red King was an immovable fortress, she excelled in long-ranges as well. The only questionable one was Red Rider, the former Red King whom was removed from the Accelerated World by Black Lotus. Speaking of Black Lotus, what were the characteristics of a black duel avatar? Her entire body consisted of sharp blades, yet she's not a red duel avatar. I would have to ask her more about colors when she got back from Okinawa.

* * *

I quickly walked home after school, not bothering to talk about Fighting Fefnir to Miyazuki or anyone else. Entering my house, I went straight to my room as usual and entered the Unlimited Field.

For once, the Unlimited Field of Suginami wasn't full of trees. Instead, it was a mechanical fortress! I couldn't help but stare at the place because I wasn't used to the very design. Before I could go any further into the area, however, a voice called me.

"You're finally here," said a calm and confident male voice from behind me.

I turned around and saw a green duel avatar in a long green sleeveless coat walking towards me. The coat had a long collar as well as shoulder pads and was outlined in gold. What was peculiar about him was that his helmet had two long fins that resembled wings. His face was like Fefnir's, except that it had eyes probably greener than mine. His body was very slim, compared to Fefnir's which was very buff and large. His boots were identical to mine, except slimmer, and he also had gold armlets, except with a slimmer design. Who were these duel avatars and why did they look so much like me?

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"I entered the field this morning. I've been waiting for you since."

"That's... That's a long time!" I exclaimed. He's been here since _this morning?! _

"Relax. I decelerated to the point where I existed here while time flew by in the real world."

"You can do that?" I asked, shocked.

"Of course. Now we should go. I will answer your questions to the best of my ability. Although I would suggest you save them for when you meet Master X," he said, turning around.

"Where are we going?" I asked while following him. He moved at a fast pace, not giving me a chance to get ahead.

"To where I reside with the other Guardians, along with Master X: Neo Arcadia."

"I've never heard of it."

"It's well hidden. As abnormalities, we do our best to stay away from the public."

"Abnormalities? And you're not doing that great of a job of hiding if you're all level 8," I chuckled.

"We leveled up to level 8 in two pairs of two. We did our best to fit the description of a real duel avatar."

"Real? You guys aren't real?"

"We exist, yes. But we surpass the rules of this world as a duel avatar." Harpuia explained, "For example, take myself. I am green, the color of a duel avatar that specializes in defense. However, I am a slim figure who uses two blades as a weapon. I have no defensive capabilities at all. It was rather difficult to be a shield in fights, but I managed to pull it off."

"I see. So does that mean I'm an... abnormality too?"

"Quite so. You are a red avatar with a primary weapon of a beam saber, the complete opposite of what a red duel avatar is supposed to wield."

"Are there more of us?"

"There is one more, and you've already fought him."

"Omega?!" I exclaimed.

"Yes. Master X will answer all of your questions now. We're here," Harpuia said with a direct face.

In front of me was the Old Tokyo Tower, to my surprise. Did Sky Raker know of this Neo Arcadia? Before I could say anything, Harpuia put his hand against the wall and opened a hidden door. He walked in while I followed closely behind him. We walked down a numerous amount of steps before reaching the bottom. I looked around the corner and noticed a giant tower that looked like a mechanical version of the Old Tokyo Tower. Perhaps this tower helped support the exterior?

"You're not here for sight-seeing," Harpuia said abruptly.

"Yeah. Sorry," I replied quickly.

I followed Harpuia into a building of some sorts. Neo Arcadia seemed pretty big for just a few people! Maybe this was a territory as well, and they had to defend it by confusing the enemy with the numerous amount of buildings? I would have to ask this 'Master X' these questions, since Harpuia didn't seem to be in the mood to talk. He entered a strange mechanism that looked like a purple capsule which glowed brightly when he stepped in and was engulfed in a white light. When the light disappeared, Harpuia was gone as well. I entered the machine myself and the same thing that happened to Harpuia happened to me.

From what I could tell, it was probably a teleportation device for faster traveling. I was now in a completely different room that had a giant throne with the back shaped like an 'X'. On both sides of the throne, there were two smaller thrones, each with their own designs. The one to the very left had a shuriken on the back of it, the one next to it had a fishlike creature. The throne to the very right had a flame design and the last one next to it had wings. Of course, all of these seats were filled, except for the winged throne.

"I've brought him, Master X," Harpuia said, kneeling to the blue figure sitting on the biggest throne.

The blue figure in the middle stood and opened his eyes, which were a piercing green like Harpuia's. His body was exactly like mine, except that his armor-vest had a design on it that looked like an 'X'. In fact, this was on the other Guardians' armor-vests as well. Not only that, but they all wore coats identical to the one Harpuia was wearing, except that they were all colored based on the Guardians' base color. Everything about him was blue, except for the exposed parts of his legs and arms, which were black like mine. His helmet was spherical with a red gem in the middle, like the other Guardians.

"Good. Now he needs to get caught up," he said, "I'll introduce you to my servants, Hero-kun. The one farthest to my right is the lurker in the shadows, Hidden Phantom."

Hidden Phantom looked like the other Guardians, except that he had a color-scheme of black and white. The most noticeable thing about him was his helmet, which had a large white mask with two eye holes. In those eye holes peered out black eyes. He also wore a red two-tailed cape which almost looked like hair.

"Hmph," he simply stated.

"Next to him is the queen of the sea, Fairy Leviathan."

Fairy Leviathan was blue like their master, except she looked much more feminine. She had eyes the color of the sea and a helmet that looked like hair with the sides forming the 'fringe' and a seashell motif forming the 'bangs'. The back of her helmet was mounted with an object that looked like a dorsal fin. She truly did look like the queen of the sea.

"Hey there! Nice to meet you!" she said with a jubilant smile.

"The one in front of you is the master of flight, Sage Harpuia."

"You can fly?" I asked, astonished.

"Yes, of course. That will be explained later," Harpuia replied.

"And last, but not least, the burning warrior Fighting Fefnir."

"I still can't believe I got stomped by you!" he growled. His hostility was wiped away when I saw him grin.

"And I am X, the 'master' of this 'Legion'," X said.

"Alright then," I finally said, "Who are you people and why is it that I only got to see you on the matching list after I became level 7?"

"I'll start at the beginning," answered X, "Originally, the six of us were supposed to be created together to defeat Omega, the one in this world who is causing a major disturbance. A few moments after our creation, the original Red Hero went berserk and we had to take him down first. It was then that we realized that it was too risky to create someone like... like him again, so we decided to take care of Omega on our own."

"How were you all born together? Isn't it impossible to give Brain Burst to more than one person?"

"I had some help from a colleague whose identity is not important. She helped me create the Four Guardians as well as designing my 'duel avatar'. "

So this colleague of his was someone who knew how to program Brain Burst, it seemed. That was the only possible way of distributing Brain Burst more than once.

"Alright, then how did I manage to become the Red Hero?" I asked.

"We... currently don't know. When you finally appeared on the matching list, she started doing research and hasn't found an answer yet. Speaking of the matching list, we hid ourselves from the public so we could go on about our daily lives without interruption, as well as level up together as one group."

"Okay. Why is Omega such a large threat?"

"He was artificially created by a certain Burst Linker somehow. Not only that, but Omega is a massive duel avatar with catastrophic power. Haven't you already fought him?" X said.

"Yeah, but he didn't seem too tough..."

"Ever since he had that stalemate with you, he's done nothing but rampage across the Accelerated World. He's taken Brain Burst away from a multitude of people, not to mention the fact that he's causing a major disturbance. If you take a look at the White Legion's territory, you would see it. It's getting to the point where it's effecting the real world as well."

"How?!" I exclaimed.

"If he continues to exist, there may be a chance that reality and this world will overlap... After that happens, I don't know what will follow suit. We must stop him as soon as possible."

Omega was capable of doing all of this? Was it truly possible for the Accelerated World and the real world to overlap? Whoever created Omega needed to answer for his or her crimes...

"Do you know who created Omega?" I asked.

"Yes. The White King, White Cosmos, is the _parent _of Omega. She was somehow able to share some of her revival powers with Omega upon creation, which is why he has the power to revive himself multiple times."

The White King had the power to revive others... Wait, Kuroyukihime told me to be wary of a Burst Linker who had the power to revive others! Were these two people connected? If so, then the White King is her _parent! _

"The White King already has a _child,_ though. How is it that she the created _two _Burst Linkers?!" I said.

"She had a _child _before Omega came along?!" X cried, eyes wide with shock.

"Is it possible that she had connections to that colleague of yours?"I asked.

"No, it isn't. My colleague is a really close friend of mine; she wouldn't do anything like that..."

"If you say so."

"Looks like we'll have to eliminate White Cosmos too, huh?" Fefnir said.

"Are you sure?" asked Leviathan.

"We can't let her create more duel avatars like Omega!" Fefnir responded ferociously.

"We'll deal with her after Omega," Harpuia commanded, "Isn't that right, Master X?"

"Yes. We'll eliminate Omega first since he's the first priority."

"You're with us, right Zero?" Leviathan asked.

I didn't know who she was talking to until I realized that everyone was staring at me.

"M-Me?" I asked, pointing at myself.

"Oops, my bad! I forgot that you're not exactly him..." Leviathan said apologetically.

"Well, if Omega is such a big problem, I guess I could help out."

"That's the best decision," Harpuia nodded, patting my shoulder.

"Welcome back then, Zero," X said, handing me a red coat identical to his.

"Z-Zero? Is that what you guys called the former Red Hero?" I asked while taking the coat.

"Yes. The operation starts tomorrow at 16:00, not a second more, not a second less!" X replied.

I nodded and put took a look at the coat he gave me. Although it was identical to his, it was slightly different. On the back of his coat, there was a golden X, but on the back of mine, there was a golden Z. I unfolded it and put it on awkwardly. Now it looked as though I was always with the Guardians and served Master X.

"Zero wasn't a servant, just so you know," X said with a sad smile, "He was originally my partner, both in real life and in this world."

"And these guys are servants in real life too?" I asked.

"Ha ha, not really. These crazy kids are just my closest friends who decided to join me on this quest to eliminate Omega. My colleague is the real master here, but she's too busy to be doing the dirty work."

I chuckled and quickly added, "So do I get a throne?"

"Soon. Don't worry about it, since it'll be over soon."

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

X sighed and patted my shoulder, "I know you've been through a lot ever since you got Brain Burst and I hate to tell you this since you're supposed to be a normal Burst Linker, but we were programmed to have our Brain Burst uninstall itself after doing our job. Perhaps when I've informed Ci- my colleague, we'll be gone after dealing with White Cosmos."

"M-My Brain Burst is going to be forcibly u-uninstalled?!"

"There's a chance that might happen, but I'm not sure. I'll check it out and tell you tomorrow when the operation starts, alright?"

"Alright..."

"See you, then!"

X smiled sadly and Linked Out almost instantly. Fefnir slapped my back with a considerable amount of force and Linked Out as well, along with Phantom. Harpuia told me not to fret and followed suit. Leviathan walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

"It'll turn out alright in the end, don't worry!" she said with shining eyes, "I'm just bummed out I didn't get to fight you again!"

And with that, she Linked Out, leaving me alone in this throne room. I sighed and sat down on the biggest throne, which was X's throne, and sulked. I couldn't help it, since there was a possibility of me losing my Brain Burst. What was I going to tell Kuroyukihime? I decided that I would call her tomorrow, hoping she would have some advice for me. I didn't want to lose Brain Burst! I was just starting to make friends too...


	20. Chapter 20 - Operation

**The Fifth Day**

I couldn't sleep at all the night before, unfortunately. I called Kuroyukihime at about 3 AM because I was full of anxiety and I couldn't hold it in any longer. I needed her comforting presence to help calm me down. I didn't expect her to answer, but what was wrong with trying?

Before I knew it, her avatar appeared and I was completely taken off guard.

"Hello, Lan. Why do you look so surprised?" she asked with a chuckle.

"I erm, didn't expect you to answer this early in the morning," I said, scratching the side of my face.

"I could tell, since you didn't set up any scenery."

"Oh! My bad!" I exclaimed.

"Don't worry. I'll put us somewhere I've been dying to try out."

Kuroyukihime waved her hand and the blackness around us changed into a sunny beach. We stood on the pale sand, looking at the beautiful blue sea that sparkled in the sunlight.

"It looks fantastic," I complimented.

"Thanks!" she said with a smile.

We sat down near the water's edge and stared at the sea. I didn't exactly know where to start, since so many things happened so fast. I sighed and spoke quietly.

"A lot of things just happened, Kuroyukihime. I'm not sure what to do right now, so I decided to ask you."

She looked at me with a curious expression and put her left hand on my right one, comforting me.

"Alright."

I told her my story. I talked about the fight with Omega and our stalemate, then the Incarnation training with Sky Raker. I hesitated to tell her about the rest, but since it was nagging me the entire night, I felt the need to. I informed her of the fight with Fighting Fefnir and how Sage Harpuia introduced me to the Four Guardians and Neo Arcadia. I laid out the entire conversation I had with X and finished off with the possibilities of me losing my Brain Burst. She remained quiet throughout the entire story and was speechless at the end.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning towards me.

"For what? You haven't done anything wrong."

"I'm sorry for not being with you to help you through this. Instead, I'm all the way over here in Okinawa..."

"Don't come back to Tokyo just yet, alright? I know you're really worried about me, but I want you to continue to enjoy your time there."

"How can I possibly enjoy it when you're all hurt and confused?" she asked, gripping my right hand.

I didn't know the answer to that question. Would everything be better if she was here with me right now, in Tokyo? Her presence always calmed me, telling me to not give up and keep moving forward.

"The operation starts today at 16:00. Do you want to come?" I asked.

"Where will it take place?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll take you to Neo Arcadia. Let's meet up in Suginami. How long do you think it'll take to get there?"

"About a minute in the real world. So I'll be there at 15:59, alright?"

"Alright," I said with a sad smile.

"Lan," she said abruptly.

"Hmm?"

"Even if you lose your Brain Burst, you'll always remain as the Red Hero in my heart."

I couldn't help but smile at this. She was really good at making me feel better when I was in the depths of despair. I thanked her by hugging her tightly, she responded with a hug of her own but her face was all red, causing me to laugh.

"W-What?" she asked.

"Why are you so embarrassed?" I laughed.

"I-I'm not!" she pouted.

We remained in this call for a while, unable to leave one another to their own separate battlefield. Eventually, the time came where I had to get ready for school and Kuroyukihime had to finish doing her student council duties. I left first, reminding her of the operation and giving her my thanks. Returning to the real world, I prepared myself for school and the possibility of a final battle.

* * *

15:58 came around rather quickly, despite the day going by so slowly at school. I already informed Sky Raker of what was happening and she felt awful for not being able to do anything. I told her that she had taught me Incarnation, and that was already more than enough. After that, she felt more content and said good-bye, which she hoped wasn't her final one.

"By the way, that coat looks really nice on you," she had said.

"Thanks!" I said with a smile.

I left the tower and went back to Suginami and Linked Out so waiting would be faster. If I waited in the Accelerated World, it would've taken a few days for her to arrive, but in the real world, I just had to wait a few minutes.

The moment the clock hit 15:59, I accelerated back into the Unlimited Field. I took a look around Suginami for Black Lotus and found her on her black throne.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yes. Take me to Neo Arcadia."

I nodded and dashed towards the direction of the Old Tokyo Tower. We made it there in record time, not slowing down to take out any other Burst Linker in our way. We moved to where Harpuia took me yesterday and I put my hand against the wall, activating the hidden switch. A hidden door opened like yesterday, and Black Lotus followed me in quietly.

"You look good in that coat," she remarked.

"Thanks," I replied with a smile.

After a few minutes, we teleported to the throne room in Neo Arcadia to find the Four Guardians in their thrones. X wasn't here yet, though.

"Hello Zero. I see you brought the Black King with you," Harpuia greeted.

"Yeah. She'll be helping us out in this operation," I said.

"That's reassuring. I didn't expect a King to help us out," Fefnir said.

"I'm only helping out because Red Hero asked me to," Black Lotus stated.

At that moment, X entered the room with a blue flash of light. He took a look at Black Lotus with his green eyes and a small smile appeared on his face.

"Black Lotus is coming too? Did you manipulate her somehow, Zero?" X asked.

"No, she came out of her free will," I said, slightly irritated.

"I see. That's good. It's time to start the operation."

The Four Guardians all stood up and gathered around X with their weapons ready. Leviathan held a long spear-like weapon. Phantom had a giant shuriken in his left hand. Fefnir used his enormous gun in his right hand. Harpuia pulled out two pink blades that looked like two Hero Swords, except much slimmer. X put both his arms in front of his face and let out a roar. He glowed with energy and his appearance changed. He was now all white and gold with a black torso, except that his helmet remained blue. His helmet sprouted five wing-like fins and his back also sprouted small wings.

"We're heading to the White Legion. That's where Omega is right now, along with White Cosmos. We'll be eliminating both of them," X stated.

"Alright. Let's go!" I said.

X motioned for us all to follow him into a teleporter. We did so and triggered the teleportation device. The world disappeared around us and we reappeared in an unknown place, possibly it being the White Legion.

"Are you sure about this, Black Lotus?" X asked, "You'll be breaking the Non-Aggression Pact."

"I never agreed to it," she stated.

"That certainly makes things easier."

The White Legion was quite large, with multiple buildings and strange structures. I wondered how we would be able to find Omega and White Cosmos in the midst of all of this. I was sure X knew the way, but I couldn't help but wonder.

We sneaked around, making sure nobody saw us. There were a few close calls because of Fefnir wanting to terminate a few guys, but thankfully, Leviathan always pulled him back. Finally, we made it to where White Cosmos and Omega resided. Omega sat on a throne (what was with these people and thrones?) in front of a blinding white light.

"White Cosmos has a defensive ability where she could block herself with a light bright enough to blind you," Black Lotus whispered.

"Good to know. How exactly will we be able to attack her if we can't look at her, then?" Fefnir asked.

"I can deal with her," X stated.

"Alright. Commencing mission in three..."

I gulped and pulled out my Hero Sword, ready to fight.

"Two..."

Omega shifted his gaze over to where we were, perhaps noticing something.

"One, go!"

Harpuia flew into the air and dashed towards Omega, along with Phantom who rode on top of his giant shuriken. Leviathan ran towards Omega's legs while X flew up and shot a few shots at White Cosmos. I ran to Omega with my Hero Sword out and ready to slice him to bits with Black Lotus behind me thinking the same thing.

The Four Guardians all landed successful hits on Omega before he could respond to our surprise assault. I sliced his hands in half, destroying them in the process. Black Lotus finished off his first form immediately after, ending the start of the first battle quickly. Omega was enveloped in a black and purple light, indicating that he was reviving himself. He reappeared in his golden form and drew his sword.

He roared and pounded the ground.

"Watch out, he's using Rekkoha!" I cried.

And sure enough, beams of darkness fell down and destroyed the ground beneath us. The only one who was hit by this attack was Fefnir, who pushed Leviathan out of the way.

"You idiot!" she cried.

"I'm fine!" he shouted, although his appearance gave away that he wasn't. His coat was all tattered and his helmet was all cracked.

We didn't waste any time and assaulted Omega once again with all we could muster. Harpuia slashed in the air and produced pink sonic-booms that dealt a significant amount of damage. Fefnir shot multiple fireballs with both of his guns, combined with Phantom, who threw many large shurikens at Omega. Leviathan summoned three ice dragons that traveled quickly towards Omega in different directions. I used my Charged Shot attack with my Hero Sword, attacking Omega directly.

Despite our continuous assault, Omega stood tall and attacked with all of his force. His sword swung about grazing the ones on the ground a few times. Harpuia did his best to try to avert the sword from us when it swung in our direction.

Then, Omega did something completely unexpected. He started to hover and move all over the place! It caused the ice dragons to become confused and go into different directions, missing Omega entirely. While moving from place to place, he shot laser beams from both his remaining hand and his face. Harpuia did a good job of repelling them using the power of the wind, but some managed to pierce through and hit some of us.

"Rekkoha!" I shouted, executing one the most powerful moves I knew. Large white pillars of light came down and crashed on Omega, dealing massive damage.

"Death by Piercing!" Black Lotus cried. Her blades moved to a horizontal X position and charged Omega. She struck him multiple times, also dealing massive damage.

She was the one to finish off his second form, which meant that we were almost done. At least, I hoped we were almost done. I took a look at how X was doing against White Cosmos and widened my eyes with shock. X was shooting streams of fire at White Cosmos with his arm cannon and successfully landed a few hits! Her shining white light was flickering, probably meaning that it wouldn't conceal her for much longer.

"Zero!" Leviathan cried.

I whipped my head around and saw that Omega was swinging his giant green sword at me. In response, I sidestepped to the right and dashed forward, avoiding the hit completely. Omega was now in his third form, which was hopefully the biggest and strongest form. He summoned orb-like snakes at us from his head and sent them flying towards us. I jumped to dodge one, but it changed direction and followed me. Surprised, I air-dashed forward to lose it. Once again, it followed me. As a last resort tactic, I shadow-dashed right through it, causing it to become confused and disappear.

"These damn snakes!" Fefnir said, shooting at some, but not doing any damage.

Omega pointed his blue arm cannon at Fefnir and shot a giant ball of energy at him. Fefnir was hit directly and was obliterated. At least, I thought he was obliterated until he spoke loudly.

"Armed Phenomenon, activate!"

A red light engulfed Fefnir and he began to morph into something else. He grew bigger and four giant cannons appeared. Once the light faded, Fefnir had transformed into some kind of tank! His head was still visible, though, which meant that he was probably highly vulnerable in this form. He moved around the battlefield quickly and shot enormous balls of fire at Omega, dealing substantial damage.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Our Armed Phenomenon forms, which change our physical appearances to give us a power boost. Having more than one Guardian in Armed Phenomenon can be disastrous, however," answered Harpuia.

"Why?"

"It can tear a hole in this world. It's nothing compared to the disturbance caused by the existence of Omega, though."

"I see. Well, let's continue fighting!" I said.

"Agreed!"

Harpuia brought his twin swords above his head in an X shape and roared. Pink streaks of lightning came from nowhere and struck Omega, electrifying him in the process. I moved forward and executed Ensuizan, my rolling slash technique, on his face. I spun quickly in the air and attacked him multiple times, causing him to flinch.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Phantom chanted while moving his hands in a strange fashion. **(A/N: Although I'm not a Naruto fan, it doesn't hurt to give Phantom a few jutsus, since he's a ninja and all.)**

Immediately afterwards, a large number of clones appeared before him and threw a bunch of large shurikens at Omega. Omega responded by shooting the clones with a laser beam from his arm cannon, causing most of them to disappear. Thankfully, he didn't hit the real Phantom.

"This sucks! I wish we were underwater!" Leviathan groaned.

"Why?" Black Lotus asked.

"Because I'm unbeatable underwater! I'm the queen of the sea," she proclaimed.

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Not a problem, Black King! I can do pretty well for a fish out of water!"

Leviathan responded to Omega swinging his sword down with a quick flick of the wrist and swinging her lance around, knocking the sword away! She was certainly powerful, despite her petite figure.

Omega summoned giant red spheres and threw them all at us, trapping us in each sphere. We were all unable to move and were being drawn in to Omega.

"What the hell is this?!" Fefnir shouted.

"Break loose!" Harpuia commanded.

I equipped my Hero Gun and pointed it towards Omega's middle face. I used Charged Shot and unleashed the shot, hitting Omega directly. The spheres around us disappeared and we fell to the ground slightly scratched.

Omega responded by shooting laser beams out of his eyes from all three heads. Coincidentally, there were six eyes, which meant each of us got hit by a laser beam. They were crazy fast, which resulted in us trying to take as little damage as possible. Unfortunately, we were all pierced through our shields and took quite a blow. Fefnir's Armed Phenomenon was destroyed, causing him to revert back to normal. To make things worse, his lasers remained in us, keeping us stuck to where we were to avoid further damage. He then swung his giant sword at us to take us all out in one blow.

"Everyone, shoot something at him!" I yelled.

"Ice dragons, go!" Leviathan shouted.

"Take this! Flame Barrage!" Fefnir roared.

"Lightning Strike!" Harpuia said.

"Shuriken Burst!" Phantom muttered, throwing a large kunai knife at Omega.

"Vorpal Strike!" Black Lotus yelled, shooting a purple streak-like blade at Omega.

"Charged Shot!" I said last.

Luckily, our attacks all landed successfully on Omega and caused him to start exploding. His shoulders fell slowly to the ground and he himself began to fall apart. Soon, his entire body collapsed, causing the ground to shake terribly. The lasers disappeared from our bodies, giving us the chance to escape from the falling debris. We all stood together with our coats ragged and tattered against a large stone spire, watching the debris fall and dissolve.

"Is it over?" I asked.

"Most likely. Don't be surprised if he is revived again and turns into something bigger," Harpuia answered.

And sure enough, a white pillar of light appeared, probably indicating that Omega was reviving himself again. Either that, or White Cosmos was doing something. But as I looked at the fight going on between X and White Cosmos, it didn't seem so. Once the white light faded, we noticed a small figure standing. As the dust and debris cleared, we saw crimson red armor glint in the sunlight.

I took a few steps closer and noticed that this figure was very identical to my duel avatar. The only difference was his blood-red eyes and the absence of golden yellow hair. Other than that, this was definitely a copy of the Red Hero.

"A copy?" I asked.

"Probably," Harpuia said.

"Me? A copy? Don't make me laugh!" Omega said with a snide smile, "_I am the real Zero!" _

"Is he the Zero who went berserk?" Fefnir asked.

"That's not possible!" Harpuia cried.

"You call yourself the God of Destruction? How dare you steal that title away from me!" Omega sneered.

"Th-The... real Zero?" I mumbled, falling to my knees. I had lost the will to fight once Omega said that he was the real Red Hero. There was no point. If I was overpowered to the point where I was able to defeat all three of his forms, this original Red Hero would be even stronger than that.

Omega lifted his left arm over his face and smiled evilly._  
_

"_I am the Messiah! Ha ha ha ha!" _he laughed loudly, swinging his arm back and sprouting long, golden hair.

(What Omega said in the end is a reference to him in MMZ3 before the fight between him and Zero starts. It indicates that he is the real God of Destruction.)


	21. Chapter 21 - Realization

The true God of Destruction stood in front of us with an evil smile and a killer look in his red eyes. Although he looked exactly like Lan, except with a darker shade of red, his heart was not the same. This Burst Linker (could I even call him that?) had the intent of removing Brain Burst from us forever. As Lan crumpled to the ground, I thought that he was entering Zero Fill, the state of where the negative emotions of a Burst Linker overwhelm their will to fight. After that happens, their duel avatar becomes a cold, dead lump, vulnerable to any attack.

"Lan, get a hold of yourself!" I said desperately. I couldn't lose him here, not now!

"What can I do? His strength surpasses all of ours..." he mumbled.

"I recall you saying that you wanted to become level 10! How can you reach that level when you can't even stand against an opponent who's supposedly stronger than you!" I shrieked.

Lan said nothing back to me. Instead, his eyes were distant, as if he were remembering something.

"What happened to the Red Hero who wouldn't give up to protect the bonds he shared with his friends, and their bonds as well?! Where's the Hero I believe in?"

I couldn't stand to see that look of defeat on his face because it hurt me. It hurt me to see the Hero I loved in the depths of despair against one strong foe when he had faced an army of Burst Linkers and took them all out. He was no God, but he was certainly a Hero. To me, at least.

"Alright," he said, getting up. He pulled out his Hero Sword and took a defiant look at Omega.

"So you're gonna fight, eh?" Omega sneered.

Lan threw himself at Omega and slashed with precision. He probably knew all of Omega's moves, since they were practically the same duel avatar. Omega pulled out his version of the Hero Sword, which was the same shape but colored pink, and clashed blades with Lan. They executed their special moves over and over, both dodging and blocking each move. Lan used his large arsenal of weapons to trip Omega up. However, Omega had already seen most of these weapons in their previous one-on-one duel.

Something was strange about Omega, though. He didn't use any of the weapons Lan pulled out, only the Hero Sword and Hero Gun. Was Omega only limited to two weapons, or did the original Red Hero not obtain the other Hero weapons? Nonetheless, he was still the most powerful duel avatar I had ever seen.

"Messenkou!" Omega commanded. He pounded the ground with his left fist and created pillars of white light that encircled him, protecting him from Lan's Shield Boomerang.

After the shield returned to Lan, Omega dashed forward to take advantage of the opening, but Lan saw this coming.

"Orbit Shield!" he yelled. His shield came back and orbited around him, protecting him from Omega. Omega didn't expect this and was hit by the rotating shield, falling back.

"Should we help him?" Harpuia asked.

"He'll be fine. I think we should help Master X," Leviathan answered.

"Good idea. Let's go!"

The Four Guardians left me to watch Omega and Red Hero duke it out in a battle of skill and wits. I took a last look at Lan and dashed over to where the other Guardians were, ready to face my _parent, _White Cosmos. Her blinding light was now gone, thanks to X, which meant that it was possible to look at her directly. White Cosmos was a very slim duel avatar, with thin legs and arms. Scattered across her body were golden orbs, and her helmet had a clear glass covering it. It was strange how her duel avatar seemed to be the opposite of mine, where mine was black with purple orbs and hers was white. She was a defensive-type duel avatar, so fighting her wouldn't be that difficult with six people.

"Good luck, Lan," I whispered.

**(A/N: Physical appearance of White Cosmos may or may not be canon)**

* * *

Fighting Omega was like fighting a mirror image of myself, except a little more difficult. Omega was slightly faster than me in my normal form, and didn't hesitate to use powerful special attacks, such as Rekkoha. His favorite special attack, it seemed, was the Double Shot Wave, which was shooting two large shots from the Hero Gun followed by a crescent wave with the Hero Sword. He used this move the most frequently in our duel.

"Charged Shot!" we both cried at the same time. We smashed our blades together at the same time, causing the ground to shake violently and the objects around us to crumble.

I leaped back shot Omega with a few shots with my Hero Gun. He blocked almost all the shots, only getting hit by one. That was my chance to move forward and slash him with my triple-slash combo. Although he sustained quite a bit of damage, he still moved extremely fast.

"Ranbu!" Omega said.

_I've never heard of this move! _I panicked.

He lunged at me with terrifying speed and slashed me for a total of seven times. The last attack was a rising slash that flung me backwards into a stone spire. I dashed forward, ready to attack again, but was blocked by his Messenkou.

"Do you know what differs between us, Hero?" he asked.

"What?"

"I don't hold back!" he roared, "Rekkoha!"

"Urk!"

I tried to dash backwards but the beams of light came down too fast, smashing me into the ground. I was surprised that I wasn't finished yet, since I already took seven powerful hits before I was hurt by this attack. I took a look at my HP and noticed that I had 20% remaining.

_Wow... I subconsciously won't give up, huh? _

Omega grabbed my face with his left hand and lifted me up. How could this be the real Zero? Was the real Zero really bent on destruction and chaos, as opposed to me, the fake Zero who wanted to fight for the people he believed in? He threw me into another stone spire and used the Double Shot Wave special attack, causing the rocks to fall on me and trap me.

_I guess this is it, huh? I lose this battle and Omega defeats the other Guardians by himself..._

I lost the will to fight and entered the state of Zero Fill. In my mind's eye, I stood behind a large destroyed tower. Upon closer inspection, there were large cables that hung from the ceiling, and connecting to those cables was none other than the Red Hero himself. He looked damaged beyond repair and was unconscious. His arms were missing and his hair hung loosely by his side. It looked depressing no matter how you looked at it. Was this the feeling of defeat? Was this the negative emotion that surpassed my fighting spirit?

_You're Lan, the one who mysteriously woke me up, right? _He asked me.

_Yeah. I'm sorry for letting you down. _I answered.

_Everyone goes through despair some time in their lives. Isn't that right?_

_I guess so._

_As cliché as this sounds, the fate of the Accelerated World depends on you._

_I know, and I've failed everyone. I can't do it! I can't defeat Omega._

_I believe in you. So does She, so does the Four Guardians. X believes in you as well._

I walked over to where Red Hero rested and tried to touch him, but was blocked by a force field.

_Are you ready to stand and fight, Lan? _He asked.

_Yes. As long as you and the others believe in me, I will stand and fight! _I answered with confidence.

** STAND, HERO. STAND AND FIGHT **

I pounded on the force field with the intention of breaking it. My hands became sore, but I kept bashing it. I needed to go back and protect my friends! For that to happen, I needed the strength of the Red Hero to fight! After a few more punches, I broke the barrier and entered Red Hero. I opened my eyes and broke out of the cables with a loud roar.

Exiting Zero Fill, I broke out of the rocks with a battle cry and dashed towards Omega, who was walking to where White Cosmos was.

"You're not going anywhere!" I yelled, pulling out my Hero Sword.

"Hmph. You never give up, do you?" he said, whipping his body around to block my attack.

I slashed him fiercely and pushed him back a few meters. He lifted his left arm and opened his left fist. It began to glow a malicious purple and the Ω symbol was engraved on the palm of his left hand.

_Incarnation?!_

He lunged towards me with this palm out and attempted to grab my face, probably trying to crush it.

"Guard Shell!" I said, panicking.

The familiar small oval-shaped shield popped up and blocked the attack, stopping Omega completely.

"What?!" he said in a sinister tone.

My Guard Shell responded to the Incarnation attack and sent out a ball of energy, sending Omega flying backwards. I took this opportunity to execute Shoenga to move him up into the air and executed Entsuizan to deal a considerable amount of damage. He was sent back down, crashing in the ground. I ended the combo with Rakuretsuzan, impaling Omega as he tried to stand up again.

Omega hit me with his palm and sent me backwards, allowing him enough time to stand up and use the Double Shot Wave combo. I blocked the entire attack with my Guard Shell and pulled out my Recoil Rod. It was the first time Omega had seen it, so he had no idea what it did. Frustrated, Omega roared a terrifying battle cry and began to glow, indicating that he was using Charged Shot. I used it as well, preparing for whatever attack he had planned.

"Shin Messenkou!" he said fiercely, pounding the ground.

Knowing exactly what it was, I dashed as far back as I could. The ground beneath me glowed and large blue plasma-like projectiles emerged and rose into the air quickly. I unleashed the power that was in my Recoil Rod and successfully hit one of the projectiles, sending it straight towards Omega, who was a sitting duck. It hit him directly in the face and knocked him down.

I dashed to him and switched to my Hero Sword and pointed it at his neck.

"It's over, Omega," I said quietly.

"Heh. That wasn't too bad, Hero," he muttered. "But do you have it in you to destroy your original body?"

I hesitated for a few moments. Did it really matter which body was the real one? Even if the body was different, the heart was the same. That's what truly made the Red Hero who he was.

"The heart is the only thing that counts," I said confidently.

"I see. So that's your answer..."

Before I could finish him off, a white and gold arm cut me off. I looked at who it was and saw that it was X. He stared at Omega with his sad green eyes and spoke.

"Is this what you've become, Zero?"

"I'm the God of Destruction portion of that Burst Linker Weil created," Omega spat. "That other Zero is the one with feelings."

"Wait, what? We're not programs, we're real people here!" I said.

"I'm not a person," Omega said. "I was created from the Disaster Armor and the berserk form of Zero. That's why I can't die."

"The Guardians and I were made specifically to permanently wipe you off the face of this World," X stated.

"I see. It looks like Ciel isn't that bad after all."

X smiled sadly and looked at me. His eyes were asking if he should destroy Omega and save the Accelerated World. I nodded slowly as an answer.

"Nova Strike!" X commanded. I jumped back as he jumped into the air and flew downwards with his arm cannon out in front of him. A yellow aura surrounded him as he fell from the sky. He crashed into Omega and a large dust cloud appeared, covering the entire area. I also noticed that he created a small crater after he landed! This move must have been a very powerful one.

The dust cleared and the last of Omega was sprawled out in the ground. Red streams of data erupted from his body and rose up into the sky. I had only seen this twice during my time in the Unlimited Field, once when I accidentally robbed a person of all their points and when I spectated a duel where a Burst Linker lost all of his points.

Once the data purge was done, nothing of Omega remained. It was finally over...

"Check your inventory for the Disaster Armor. Omega mentioned that he was created with it, so be sure it isn't in your inventory. You don't want to become the next Chrome Disaster," X said.

I nodded and decided to ask about the Chrome Disaster later. I checked my inventory and found nothing in there, thankfully. X checked as well and didn't see anything either.

"Are you guys done with White Cosmos?" I asked.

"She escaped. Unfortunately, she tricked me into moving to a zone where there was a return point."

"Oh."

Part of me was glad that she escaped. I wanted to hold on to my Brain Burst for a little longer, at least until Kuroyukihime came back.

"She'll be hiding for a while, so don't expect another operation anytime soon."

"Alright."

We regrouped with the other Guardians and told them what happened. We figured that White Cosmos would show up again eventually, but she'd be a lot more wary every time she enters the Unlimited Field. We would strike whenever there would be an opportunity, which wouldn't be any time soon.

"Good work, Guardians," X said cheerily.

"It was fun!" Fefnir said with a big smile.

"If only there was water..." Leviathan pouted.

"That wasn't too hard," Phantom mumbled.

"Our pleasure, Master X," Harpuia said, bowing.

"We're going to head back to Neo Arcadia. Are you two going back to Suginami?" X asked Black Lotus.

"Yes. We'll see you when the next operation starts," Black Lotus answered.

"Alright. See you later."

We waved goodbye and went our separate ways for the time being. Black Lotus and I headed back to Suginami with haste; we were exhausted from the fight that raged on back there. We were lucky to not have anyone killed.

"How was it, fighting your _parent?_" I asked.

"She didn't see it coming. Oh how I wanted to slice her limbs off..." Black Lotus muttered, trailing off.

"We'll get her next time. You know who she is in real life, right?"

"She's my older sister."

"O-Oh. Sorry!" I quickly said, ashamed of my shallowness.

"No, it's alright. You would've found out anyhow," she chuckled.

I laughed along with her, glad that we were spending time together again. I had missed her company and yearned for the day when she would be back in Tokyo.

"So you can enjoy the rest of your trip now, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, now that this is over," she answered.

"_Almost _over," I corrected.

"Oh, right..."

"Don't worry about it. It'll end sooner than you think."

"I hope so."

We finally made it to the return point closest to Suginami and said our farewells. We couldn't wait to see each other again!

* * *

Returning to the real world, I wondered if the Guardians did the right thing. Was eliminating Omega the only way to solve the problem? I just hoped that I wasn't accidentally on the wrong side, working with the wrong people. I mean, X had a colleague, who was more than likely to be this 'Ciel' that Omega was talking about, who could manipulate Brain Burst!

Thinking about Ciel, I wondered if she could make it so that my duel avatar wouldn't disappear after this entire scenario was over. Actually, ever since Omega revealed himself as the original Red Hero, I had second thoughts about keeping my duel avatar. It was completely overpowered in terms of how the Accelerated World worked, and probably had the potential of destroying it all as well. Maybe I should create a different avatar... No, my _true _avatar. Red Hero wasn't the ideal avatar I had dreamt up. But then, how did Red Hero end up being my duel avatar?

I shook my head in frustration and crawled into bed. I guess I'll figure out who this Ciel is and find her. If I find her, I might be able to meet X and the Guardians in real life too. I wondered what Fefnir would be like... He'd be pretty aggressive, maybe.

And so I laid in bed thinking about the real-life counterparts of the Guardians before falling into a deep sleep, despite the few seconds that passed in the real world.

(The "STAND, HERO. STAND AND FIGHT" part is a reference to SAO in the Fairy Dance arc, where Kirito used the 'will of the mind' to stand and fight Sugou, the person who was, erm, harassing Asuna.)


	22. Chapter 22 - Relaxation

**The Day of Return**

The next few days after defeating Omega, I periodically checked in with X in Neo Arcadia to see if he had any new leads on White Cosmos. He said that he would send me a message if there was going to be an operation, so there was no need to check in. I haven't done much since, to be honest. I rarely dueled people and I rarely received duel requests because of what happened in the White Legion. News of me and Black Lotus defeating White Cosmos' second in command went around like a forest fire. Since she violated the pact she didn't agree to, a big surprise was waiting her way when she came back to Tokyo. I told her to disconnect from the global net to ensure her safety.

And today was the day she was going to come back. She said she wouldn't get to Tokyo until sometime later in the afternoon, so I had plenty of time to set up my own surprise I had for her. With the help of a certain someone, we remade my dining room into a somewhat romantic restaurant with candles and such. We bought food and began cooking at around five in the afternoon. As I helped her cook, we conversed about Kuroyukihime and her past experiences. We laughed at a lot of jokes and had a lot of fun preparing the food.

After that was all over, I took a short break and sat down on the couch. I still couldn't believe that I had managed to get Sky Raker, or Kurasaki Fuuko, to come to my place and help me surprise Kuroyukihime. When I first saw her, I couldn't believe it was her since I was so used to seeing her in a wheelchair. She instead had artificial legs that looked pretty real, but the noise they made gave it away. She was a beautiful girl as well, one with flowing brown hair and brown eyes. **(A/N: I'm going with the light novel depiction of Fuuko. She has blue eyes in the anime for some reason.)**

She wore a formal-looking blue dress and had a blue ribbon tied to the right side of her hair. She resembled the sky as much as her avatar did! I couldn't help but make that comment when I first saw her. Me, I just wore some nice formal black clothing. It wasn't anything too special.

I had already told Fuuko about the Omega incident and how it ended. I tried to look for a Ciel in Tokyo, but nobody seemed to recognize that name, which was unfortunate. I even looked her up on the internet, but found no results. Either Ciel didn't exist, was a nickname, or was so top secret that her information isn't even on the internet. So I waited until Kuroyukihime came back to begin searching again.

At about 6:30 PM, the doorbell rung. I ran up to door and opened it, finding Kuroyukihime behind it. She was in a black dress with black tights, somewhat similar to the one she wore to the dance of last year. We ran into each others arms and embraced for a few moments.

"Lan! I missed you so much!" she cried.

"I missed you too, Kuroyukihime," I said back.

"Why are you so nicely dressed? Did you plan something for the both of us?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same!" I laughed.

We went inside and I showed her the dining room, which was glowed warmly due to the candles. Fuuko did a really good job of placing the candles in the right places.

"Did you do this all yourself?" Kuroyukihime asked with wandering eyes.

"No, definitely not. I had a lot of help," I answered modestly.

"Really? From who?"

"An old friend of yours," I said mysteriously.

"W-What do you mean...?"

"He means me," Fuuko said quietly, stepping into the room.

"F-F-Fuuko?!" Kuroyukihime exclaimed with her face turning red.

"This was your big surprise!" I said cheerily.

Kuroyukihime's eyes darted from me to Fuuko and tears began to well up as well.

"I... I'm not..." she stuttered.

"It's okay. The past is past, right?" I said gently.

She gulped and shifted her gaze back to Fuuko. It was hard to figure out what she was going to do. I had three guesses: she was going to hit me, she was going to run, or she was going to go crying into my arms.

It was neither of the three. Instead, Kuroyukihime ran into Fuuko's arms, bawling her eyes out. I couldn't help but chuckle, since I had never seen Kuroyukihime cry like that before. It was heartwarming to see her together with Fuuko again.

Fuuko embraced Kuroyukihime warmly and thanked me with her brown eyes, which also had tears in them. I finally did it! I reunited Fuuko with her one and only friend. The quest to rekindle their bond was now over. It felt really good for me and, hopefully, the two of them.

"Let's eat now, shall we?" I suggested.

"Yeah!" they both said at the same time.

"But before that, I have to give Lan his gift," Kuroyukihime said, stopping us.

She reached into her bag and brought out a small necklace that had a somewhat long chain and a black butterfly. I took it with gratitude and wrapped it around my neck. Although it didn't suit my style to wear jewelry, I did it to keep her happy.

"It's not as great as what you gave me, though," she added.

"It's perfect. Don't worry about it!" I said a little anxiously.

After that, Fuuko brought out her amazing homemade food and we ate hungrily.

* * *

"That was good! Fuuko, I didn't know you were such a good cook!" Kuroyukihime said with a big smile.

"I cooked some of it too..." I grumbled.

Kuroyukihime chuckled along with Fuuko who modestly said that I helped her out with the main course.

"Well... What now? If you couldn't tell, I didn't plan this far ahead," I said, laughing nervously.

"We could watch a movie!" Kuroyukihime suggested.

"Uhm, I don't own very many movies..."

"How about a game?" Fuuko suggested.

"I have a few VRMMOs that we could play and some really old stuff."

"What kind of old stuff?" Kuroyukihime inquired.

"A few old cards for this ancient card game. They belonged to my dad back when he was really competitive."

"Let's try that!"

And so, we spent that night playing a little children's card game, called Yu-Gi-Oh. The cards were really dusty, since they were laying around in a box of toys I used to play with when I was a toddler. Those too were dusty. That didn't stop Kuroyukihime and Fuuko from teasing me about my old toys.

"You used to play with dolls?!" Kuroyukihime shrieked, horrified that her Hero was such a girl.

"Th-Those are action figures!" I said, snatching the figure she held in her hand.

"This is a doll," Fuuko pointed out, holding up a small figure of Princess Peach, a character from a very old franchise back in the late 20th century.

"N-N-Not exactly!" I cried, reaching for it.

"I found the cards!" Kuroyukihime announced, holding up a blue container that looked like it held cards in it.

"There's more!" I said.

There were four decks in total, each having their own kind of play style. Before playing, I read the rules from the rule book aloud so we understood the basics of the card game. Then, we read the card effects of each card to make sure we knew what they did. Kuroyukihime used the deck that had a majority of the cards labeled as "The Six Samurai" and I took the deck which consisted of "Spellcaster" type cards. Fuuko took the deck that was full of zombies.

We then initiated a three-way free-for-all, with me going first, Fuuko going next, and Kuroyukihime going last.

"That's not fair!" she said.

"But if you go last, you get to attack both of us," I pointed out.

"Hmm..." she thought about it for a moment. "I guess it isn't that bad then."

The first game was the longest, since we didn't really know what we were doing. To be honest, Yu-Gi-Oh was a pretty complex game. More complex than Brain Burst, anyway. In the end, Fuuko whittled my life points to zero and managed to win because Kuroyukihime couldn't draw anymore cards.

"What?! You lose if you don't have any cards left?!" Kuroyukihimi yelled in despair.

"Sorry Saa-chan, that's the rules of the game," Fuuko chuckled.

"I'll beat you all next game!"

The second game was much shorter than the first now that we understood the rules of the game. However, we were confused on what some cards did and how they worked. Eventually, we worked it out and found that Kuroyukihime had the most annoying deck. Despite this, I won the duel by using my Dark Magician of Chaos to banish some of Kuroyukihime's key Six Samurai cards. Fuuko was destroyed by Kuroyukihime early in the duel, unfortunately.

"Gah! Not again!" Kuroyukihime cried.

"Are you going to keep playing until you win? It's getting kind of late and I think Fuuko needs to get home," I said.

"One more! That's all!"

Fuuko and I laughed at how worked up Kuroyukihime was getting. We settled for a third match and it was very tense. I tried to keep Kuroyukihime's field empty, but Fuuko's trap cards stopped me from doing so.

"Are you trying to let her win?!" I asked in disbelief.

"I might be here all night if she doesn't," she answered, giggling.

"Hey! Don't just _let _me win!" Kuroyukihime spat.

"Calm down, the duel isn't even over yet," I stated.

In the end, Kuroyukihime managed to fill up all of her monster zones (no thanks to Fuuko!) and completely obliterated Fuuko as well as my monsters within a matter of turns. It looks like we all got one win out of three duels.

"All right! I beat you guys!" Kuroyukihime proclaimed triumphantly.

We all erupted in laughter after that. We put all the cards away and then had a nighttime snack.

"Are you going to leave now, Fuuko?" I asked.

"I think I'll just call my parents and tell them I'm sleeping over at a friend's. It's a Saturday anyway," she said.

"Alright, suit yourself."

It was pretty late, so we all got in our sleeping clothes. Since Fuuko and Kuroyukihime didn't plan on sleeping over, they had to wear some of my mother's pajamas. As usual, Fuuko picked out a sky blue one and Kuroyukihime picked out a purple one. Me, I just put on a t-shirt and shorts. But then another problem arose: where would we sleep?

"Nobody can sleep in my parents' bedroom because they come home late, and my bed isn't big enough for the three of us..." I said.

"Let's sleep on the floor, then?" Fuuko suggested.

"Hmm... Alright. I have an old mattress around here somewhere."

It didn't take long to find it in the basement, thankfully. I cleaned it up a little to make sure that it wasn't full of anything foreign. After that, we cleared the living room to make room for the mattress. I grabbed a few pillows and a blanket from my room and threw them on the mattress. Although it wasn't as comfortable as a bed, it was certainly better than nothing.

"Lan, do you mind sleeping in the middle?" Kuroyukihime asked.

"Th-The middle? B-Between you two...?" I stuttered. My nose nearly started to bleed when I realized that I was going to be sleeping between two gorgeous girls.

"Don't worry, don't bite," Fuuko said.

"I-I'm not worried a-about that..."

I reluctantly lied down between Fuuko and Kuroyukihime, feeling very uncomfortable. I hoped with all of my heart that nothing sexual would come out of this. It was just Kuroyukihime and her friend sleeping over, that was all. That's right, it wasn't anything more than that...

Fuuko turned the lights off and laid down to the right of me. Kuroyukihime made sure everything was out of place and then laid down to the right of me. She snuggled with me, which was perfectly alright, but then Fuuko did too...

"Lan, you're warm..." Fuuko commented quietly.

_AGH THIS WAS SO HARD TO BEAR! Calm down, calm down! _I thought to myself.

"L-L-Let's get to s-sleep now..." I whispered, refraining myself from thinking about perverted thoughts.

"Good night Lan," Kuroyukihime said softly, kissing my cheek.

"Mm. Good night Kuroyukihime."

I couldn't get to sleep because my heart was racing so much, but I eventually calmed down when I figured that they weren't going to do anything from my fantasies. Still, I couldn't sleep because of the things Kuroyukihime and I had to do, like finding Ciel and eliminating White Cosmos. And after that...

"Hey, Lan..." Kuroyukihime whispered sleepily.

"Hm?"

"Even if you lose your Brain Burst, I'll always love you."

I felt reassured and somewhat surprised. She almost always knew what was on my mind at times like these.

"And I'll always be your friend," Fuuko said quietly as well.

I eventually fell asleep, feeling the warmth of both of their bodies beside me.

(That was a fun chapter to write! No, Fuuko is not getting it on with Lan at all! They will remain absolutely platonic, and that's that. Sorry for the little details on the Yu-Gi-Oh duels, I'm not very competitive with the card game and I don't really pay attention to the deck builds and stuff!)


	23. Chapter 23 - Explanation

(Long chapter. It provides a lot of the missing information about the origin of Red Hero and Omega.)

_The Next Day_

I woke up and yawned a long yawn. I was unaware of my surroundings and put my face in something warm and soft. It also smelled really good, like fresh citrus fruit. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times still blissfully unaware of what I stuffed my face into. After noticing that it certainly _was not _a pillow of some sorts, and it was in fact, Fuuko's breasts, I shifted my face back slowly, red in the face. I glanced at her face, hoping that she didn't notice I had buried my face into her breasts, which were somewhat large for someone Kuroyukihime's age, and if she did, I hoped she would forgive me.

Thankfully, she was still sound asleep. Kuroyukihime, on the other hand, was watching me the entire time.

"YOU IDIOT!" she yelled, smacking my face.

If this were a shounen manga or anime, I would've gone flying through the wall and into the yard, but since this wasn't, I instead flew into the nearby couch we slept in front of.

"Kuroyukihime-" I tried saying.

"I didn't know you were such a pervert!" she cried in dismay.

"I was still asleep when I... When I..." I tried to say.

"When you what?" Fuuko asked sleepily, getting up and rubbing her eyes.

"N-Nothing!" Kuroyukihime and I said in unison.

"Did Lan-kun do something perverted to Saa-chan?" she asked with a sly smile.

"If he did, he'd be dead," Kuroyukihime answered harshly with her fist drawn.

"E-Eh?!" I cried. What happened to the Kuroyukihime who was all sweet and nice when we went to bed?!

"N-Never mind that..." I mumbled.

"I'll go make us some breakfast," Fuuko suddenly offered. She probably guessed what had happened.

"Alright. Go crazy," I said.

As Fuuko left, Kuroyukihime yanked my collar and drew me up to her red face. It was hard to take her seriously because of that.

"I-I'll forgive you this time, Lan. But only because you were asleep!" she whispered harshly.

Since our faces were so close, I thought that making up for my mistake was easy, so I kissed Kuroyukihime on the lips. Her eyes widened in surprise and her face grew even more red. I figured she was going to pound me, so I immediately moved my head down and dodged a swing.

"W-W-What w-was th-that!" she cried.

"An apology," I said innocently.

"Th-That wasn't n-necessary!"

"Would you rather have had me put my face in your-"

WHAM. A pillow was knocked into my face followed up by a punch with Kuroyukihime screaming out in embarrassment.

"S-S-Stop it!" she stuttered, very flustered. Even with my face buried underneath the pillow, I could tell her face was probably redder than Red Hero himself.

"You're suffocating me," I said weakly.

She threw the pillow off and I was right; her face was very red, the reddest I've ever seen it. Her face was bunched up in a cute pout, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny?!" she cried.

"Nothing! You just looked really cute right now..." I said, saving myself from another blow to the face.

"You're embarrassing me too much!"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. It's your first day back."

The red slowly disappeared from her face and she helped me back up, apologizing for hitting me.

"Did you not like the kiss?" I asked.

"W-What?!" she exclaimed. "No! I mean, yes, it was... Good. Just... unexpected."

"I see," I said with a smile. "C'mon, let's go eat."

She responded with a nod and we entered the dining room, which returned back to its normal appearance. Fuuko just finished placing all of the plates down and was just about to call us over to eat.

"Wow... This all looks very good!" I exclaimed.

"Thank you very much," she said with a smile.

The smell of bacon and eggs filled my nostrils as I ate with glee. Fuuko's cooking skills in the Accelerated World transferred well into the real world as well. I had a sudden wish to keep her here for a longer time, just so I could eat her food.

After eating the absolutely wonderful meal, the three of us cleaned the dishes and washed up, getting ready for the day. I was going to look for Ciel again, while Fuuko and Kuroyukihime had some catching up to do. We parted ways outside of my house, with them heading to where Fuuko lived and with me going to the bookstore. I hadn't checked there yet, maybe there were some people who have heard of her or something.

I made it to the large bookstore that was in Kanda-Jinbouchou area and faced the Surugadai-shita intersection. I entered it and made my way through the store, asking around. After no luck, I took a seat on the top floor, which was kind of like a cafe. I ordered myself a drink and looked outside the nearby window, deep in my own thoughts.

"Here is your drink," said the waitress.

"Thank you," I said kindly.

She gave me a smile and walked away to serve the other customers. I took a sip out of my drink, which was some sort of juice. It had a strange taste to it but it was good.

A young blonde-haired girl walked by and took the seat that was next to me. She wore a pink dress and white leggings, as if she were on a date with someone. She ordered a drink herself and took out a thick book. It looked like a difficult read, especially for a girl her age. Her drink arrived shortly afterwards and it looked almost exactly like mine. She took it with gratitude and took a sip, her face scrunching up at the weird taste.

"It's not that bad," I said to her.

She looked at me with surprised blue eyes that resembled the color of the sky and giggled.

"It was something new, so I decided to try it out," she replied.

"Ahh, I see. A person who likes to experiment all sorts of things, eh?" I said jokingly.

"Yup. I tend to do that a lot."

"I didn't see you downstairs. Did you just arrive?"

"Yeah. I came here to wait for a friend. What about you?" I was kind of right. She was waiting for someone.

"I'm looking for someone who seems to be impossible to find. Do you think you might know her?"

"I know a lot of people, so I could maybe try."

"I'm looking for someone who calls themselves Ciel," I said sort of quietly.

The reaction I expected was the same of those on the floors below, where the person would scrunch up their face and think for a little bit and then answer no. However, her reaction was radically different. Her face fell and she tried to pretend that she was thinking of the people she knew and lie about not knowing such a person.

"So you know who she is," I said.

"N-No..." she stuttered.

"I can tell you're not the kind of person to lie. What kind of relationship do you have with her?" I asked, trying not to be so forceful.

"Why do you want to know her?"

"I feel like... like she could help me with something."

"Like what?"

"Do I have to tell you?" I asked, slightly irritated.

"Yes. Or else I won't tell you what I know about Ciel."

"Alright, alright," I conceded. "I'm trying to keep this program that I have called Brain Burst. Uhm, there have been some events going on recently and there may be a chance that the program will uninstall itself after I'm done with dealing with a certain problem..."

Her eyes widened in shock and her left hand moved up to her mouth. I could tell that she was in serious shock, as if she couldn't believe who she was talking to was...

"R-Red... Hero?" she whispered almost inaudibly.

"That's me," I said with a sad smile.

"To think that I would find you here..." she mumbled.

"Who're you waiting for?"

"The Burst Linker you know as X. He should be here soon," she said.

And as if on cue, a light-brown haired boy with green eyes sat down next to her. He wore a formal-like blue shirt with white dress pants and wore blue dress shoes. He was a lot like X already by being blue. I wasn't a big fan of red, but I wore a red long-sleeved shirt today. That probably gave a hint as to who I was.

"Vent, this is Lan. Lan, this is Vent," Ciel said warmly.

"Hello Lan, nice to meet you!" he said with confidence.

"Hi there, Vent!" I said, meeting his confidence with my own.

"Who's he? A new friend?" Vent asked Ciel.

"Uhm... How should I put this..." she mumbled, her face slightly red.

"Your boyfriend?" Vent asked.

"W-What?! No! We just met!" she exclaimed.

"Oh. You should've just said so."

"I'm the Red Hero," I answered for Ciel.

"W-What?!" Vent exclaimed, shocked. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

There was a moment of silent tension between the three of us. I didn't blame either of them; if it were me, I would be surprised that someone from the Accelerated World came looking for me and I accidentally found him/her.

"So you're trying to save yourself, huh?" Vent asked with hostility.

"N-Not exactly. I'm just trying to keep my Brain Burst, that's all..." I said.

"Why are you trying so hard to save it?" Ciel asked.

I hesitated for a moment. _Why _did I want to save it?

"To keep the bonds I've made with my friends alive," I answered thoughtfully.

"That's an interesting answer," Vent remarked.

"Yes, indeed," Ciel said quietly. "Well, I'll see what I can do. Cable with me."

"Eh?!" Vent and I both exclaimed.

"Do you want to keep your Brain Burst or not?" she asked.

"I do!" I answered.

She pulled out a cable and held it out. I gulped and silently told Kuroyukihime to forgive me for linking with another girl! I took it with shaky hands and put it in my Neuro Linker. Ciel put the other end in hers as well and then moved her hands around in the air in a quick fashion.

"Please accelerate with me," she said.

"Waah?!" Vent cried.

"Burst Link!" Ciel and I commanded.

The world around me transformed into the familiar blue color after saying the command. I popped out of my body as my school's avatar, which was an almost perfect copy of the Red Hero. Ciel wore a pink sleeveless vest that looked identical to Red Hero's and had a pink miniskirt on. She also wore black leggings with pink shoes. A barely visible pink helmet also appeared on her head, with the back of her hair poking out in a ponytail.

"You're very pink," I commented.

"It's my favorite color," she explained shyly.

"I see. So why did I need to accelerate?" I asked.

"So I can figure out how you obtained the former Red Hero's duel avatar with less problems," she answered. "Now don't disturb me while I look through your avatar's database."

I was about to ask about my avatar's database, but I stopped myself. If I wanted to preserve this program, I would have to listen carefully to her directions. To kill time, I looked through the entire move list of my duel avatar, Red Hero. It was bigger than any character in practically any fighting game! The list started off with the basics: punch, kick, dash, air-dash, slash, shoot, throw, and thrust. Selecting the special attacks category, there were probably ten times more moves! I actually hadn't looked at the entire list before, but since I had plenty of time, might as well do it now.

At the top of the list were the special attacks with the Hero Sword, which were Shouenga, Rakuretsuzan, Reppuugeki, Entsuizan, and much more. The Hero Gun was next, which was simply three elemental shots: Burst Shot, Ice Javelin, and Tractor Shot. The Recoil Rod had no special attacks, and the Shield Boomerang had two, which were Orbit Shield and Shield Sweep. Shield Sweep allowed the Shield Boomerang to slide on the ground vertically and slice many smaller opponents in half. The Hero Chain had only one special attack, which was Energy Chain.

Last but not least were the miscellaneous moves that didn't require me to use any weapon. This included my Shadow Dash technique, my Shin Messenkou/regular Messenkou, and Double Shot Wave (that was the only one that required my Hero Gun and Sword, however). I wondered where Rekkoha was, since it didn't appear in the regular move list and the special attack list. I closed that menu and found myself one last category: Giga Attacks. Rekkoha was so powerful that it had its own category?!

In this category, there were three moves: Sogenmu, Ittou Ryoudan: Genmurei, and Rekkoha. **(A/N: What a coincidence! These are the same giga-attacks Zero can use in [Ultimate]Marvel vs. Capcom 3!)**

I had never used the first two, since I didn't even know they existed until now. I wonder, why didn't Omega use any of these moves? He preferred using Double Shot Wave, Messenkou, and Rekkoha. He used Shouenga a few times, but other than that, he stuck to those three moves...

"Alright, thank you for being patient," Ciel said suddenly.

"Uhm, it wasn't a big deal."

"I figured out how you received this duel avatar. Let's start from the beginning, from when I created X and the Four Guardians."

"Alright. Shoot," I said with an eager face.

She sighed and began to speak.

"Before you were given the Brain Burst program from Black Lotus, I gave Vent the Brain Burst program and created a custom duel avatar for him for one reason only: to stop an evil man's plan from happening. However, he foresaw this event and created Omega through White Cosmos and the Disaster Armor. When X fought Omega, he was nearly torn to shreds. He Linked Out at the last moment and came back to me for aid. I then altered his Brain Burst with enough capacity to support four more _children. _The chances of that happening were slim, but since his duel avatar was based on a hero who held unlimited potential, he succeeded with the alteration of the program.

And so, he gathered four of his closest friends and installed the Brain Burst program to each and every one of them successfully. Our enemy also created another Burst Linker, but this one betrayed him and came over to our side. He was the original Red Hero, or Zero, as X and the others would eventually call him. As the group underwent an operation to eliminate Omega once and for all, Red Hero went berserk. Whether or not he was created with a virus of some sorts is unknown. I'll let Black Lotus tell you about the Disaster Armor, since she was involved in defeating the Chrome Disasters that appeared along with the armor.

Anywho, back to the topic, Red Hero was eventually defeated by the Four Guardians and X. As Vent described to me, the moment he was destroyed, something strange happened. A dark object with wings left the body of the Red Hero as he changed into a red ball of light. The dark object sprinkled a dark powder-like substance on X and his friends and caused them to go berserk. Thankfully, they were able to Link Out and come to me to reset their avatars. They were back to level 1, but at least they weren't wreaking havoc in the Accelerated World.

About two weeks later, we were notified of a red duel avatar fighting with a green beam saber and thought the disastrous Red Hero had reappeared. After spectating a few duels of yours, we noticed that you were not berserk, but rather controlled and quite friendly, albeit a little ruthless in fights. You still had the fighting spirit the original Red Hero had, though. We trusted that you wouldn't go berserk and you didn't, which was really helpful.

Now, to how you received that avatar. Although duel avatars are meant to be born from the Burst Linker's heart, that's not the case here since it breaks all the rules of the Accelerated World. Red Hero must have got his way into Black Lotus's Neuro Linker somehow and then transferred over to you when she gave you the Brain Burst program. Your spirit to protect the bonds you shared with your friends must have been strong enough to wake up the sleeping Red Hero that resided in your Neuro Linker."

I took in what she said slowly. The evil villain, Omega, White Cosmos, Red Hero, going berserk... and then Red Hero's data somehow appearing in Kuroyukihime's Neuro Linker. If I hadn't accepted the Brain Burst program from Kuroyukihime, would she be here instead of me, involved with Ciel and Neo Arcadia?

"That's a lot of information," I commented with an anxious smile.

"I'm almost done. You're still wondering how Omega obtained the Red Hero's body when you had Brain Burst, right?" she asked.

"Yeah. Are you for certain you know what happened?"

"Not exactly. It's just a good and educated guess," she replied. "After you were created, that dark-winged object must have known and found Omega, of all people, and fused with him like it fused with the original Red Hero. The object may have had the Red Hero's body carved into it, as well as his skills. Also, fusing with Omega must have been easy, since he was created with the Disaster Armor and White Cosmos' healing power."

"I see..." I said quietly.

"Now you're all caught up. All I needed was your duel avatar's data to compile everything together and confirm some things. I'll inform the other members about it later. But before I can do that, I need to ask you a question."

"Okay. What is it?"

"After defeating Omega, did you notice anything come out of him?" she asked with a worried look.

"No, not that I remember. You should ask Vent, he dealt the final blow."

"Alright. Let's leave."

We Bursted Out and returned to the real world. Ciel explained how the new Red Hero was created to Vent quickly. He nodded a lot, seeming to understand everything she was saying. She also asked him if he saw anything emerge from Omega's body when we defeated him. He also shook his head, not remembering anything like that happening.

"I'll tell the others this new information. We're still on the search for White Cosmos," he said to Ciel.

"Alright. Tell me if anything new pops up," she replied.

Vent nodded and left in a hurry. Ciel stayed for a little longer to explain more things to me if I needed it.

"Who's the bad guy?" I asked.

"Dr. Weil. He plans to be the king of this world with the help of the Accelerated World," she said sadly.

"Is he the creator of Brain Burst?"

"No, at least, as far as I'm concerned..."

"Have you tried to look for him too?"

"Yes. But he's also impossible to find. There's a chance that White Cosmos may be with him right now."

"Last but not least, about my Brain Burst..." I began.

"Like X and the others, yours will uninstall itself after the threat of Dr. Weil has been eliminated," she said quietly.

"...I see. So you could only make it last that long."

"I'm sorry."

I thanked Ciel for all of the information on the situation and got up to leave to tell Kuroyukihime about it as well. Before I left, Ciel gave me her contact information, just in case I needed it. I also gave her mine, so she could inform me of the next operation. I quickly left the bookstore and headed back to my house, calling Kuroyukihime and telling her to meet me there with Fuuko. We would need all the help we could get to defeat this Dr. Weil.


	24. Chapter 24 - Revocation

I met up with Kuroyukihime and Fuuko at home, telling them every single detail I learned from Ciel. They had serious expressions on during the entire story. After ending it with the possibilities of that dark-winged object still flying out there, the two exchanged glances and sighed at the same time.

"This is some mess you've gotten yourself into," Kuroyukihime sighed.

"Huh? But you're the one who gave me the Brain Burst program. Aren't you the one who got me into the situation?" I asked, trying not to provoke her.

"I guess you're right. I'm sorry," she said unexpectedly.

_So she gets angry when I stuff my face into Fuuko's chest, but not when I blame her for what's happening to me? Well, I'm not putting the entire blame on her, since she didn't even know the former Red Hero was in her Neuro Linker, but still..._

"It's alright. We'll beat this Weil guy and then things'll go back to normal," I cheerfully said, trying to cheer her up.

"Lan-kun's right, Saa-chan. We'll all work hard together to overcome this obstacle!" Fuuko added.

Kuroyukihime looked at both of us with grateful eyes and smiled.

"Thank you, both of you!" she said. "But Lan, what about your Brain Burst?"

"I've made up my mind. If it has to uninstall itself after we're through with Weil, then I guess I have to accept that fact," I said sadly.

"Don't worry, we'll still be there for you!" Fuuko said.

I couldn't help but smile at her words. Although deep down inside of me, I was hurt. Just as these two were making up and rekindling their friendship, I had to lose my Brain Burst. However, it was for the greater good. If Dr. Weil was planning on becoming the king of this world using the Accelerated World, then giving up Brain Burst was the best option to protect the ones I loved, rather than not doing anything and let all of them be hurt.

Fuuko left my house and went back home, since her parents were expecting her back. Kuroyukihime stayed with me for a little while to chat, since it was her first day back. It was still early in the afternoon after we finished laughing with each other and decided to grab something to eat, perhaps at a local cafe or something. Kuroyukihime didn't object, so we headed out.

I put on a white sweatshirt, it was somewhat chilly for an April afternoon. Kuroyukihime had picked out new clothes with Fuuko and now wore a black wool trench coat for women. It was quite a coincidence that we happened to wear contrasting colors.

After a short period of walking, the sidewalks became somewhat full of other people. Kuroyukihime wrapped her left arm in mine so she couldn't get separated from me, but also to just hold me since we haven't had much physical contact except for last night (which was more than I could handle).

Before reaching the cafe, I heard a loud screeching noise to my right. Kuroyukihime and I instantly snapped our heads to the right and noticed a car heading straight towards us. Instinctively, we said the command to accelerate before the car ran into us.

"Burst Link!"

And with that, the car seemingly stopped, as well as the world around us, and we reappeared in our school avatars in front of our original bodies. We examined the car quickly, finding that there was nobody driving!

"The car is remote-controlled?" I asked.

"Seems so. But who would..."

"Your sister," I said quietly.

"...To think that she would resort to killing me."

"Not just you, but me as well. With us out of the picture, Dr. Weil's plan to be the king of this world will be closer to success."

I felt strangely calm for some reason. Even though death was literally a second or two away, I was calm. There was no sense of panic whatsoever. I had to figure out how to get out of this situation quickly, or else the car would wipe both of us off the face of this world forever.

"Would Physical Burst do the trick?" I asked.

Physical Burst was a command that a Burst Linker can use once he reached level 4. It allowed the user to accelerate his body 10 times for a few seconds at the cost of 5 points. Unfortunately, I wasn't sure if we had enough time in the real world to even utter the command. Still, there was no other option.

"It _could _save us, but there's a chance that it won't," Kuroyukihime replied.

"What else can we do?"

"I can use the command Physical Full Burst." I noticed that she had said _I _and not _we. _

"What does it do?" I asked. I already had a guess of what it did, since it sounded so similar to Physical Burst.

"It's a few steps above the level 4 command which allows the user to accelerate his or her body up to 100 times."

"Let's both use it, then. What's the toll?"

"You can't use it. You're not a level 9 Burst Linker," she said quietly. "It consumes 99% of the user's points, regardless of how much they have."

"I see..."

I had realized what Kuroyukihime was planning to do. She was going to use this command and save me while she would get hit by the car instead. The thought of that quickly made me distraught. She was more than likely going to die here and very soon. I couldn't stop myself from tightly grasping her left arm.

"Don't!" I said, holding back my tears.

"There's no other option. You, at the very least, need to live," she said with a sad smile.

"We were just getting started! You just got back from your trip too! And now... and now..."

"And now is the time for me to say good-bye," she finished for me.

My face fell and tears began to well up in my eyes. I was no Hero here. I couldn't pull out my Hero Sword and slice that car in half. I couldn't use the Hero Chain to yank Kuroyukihime away from the situation. I was absolutely powerless here.

"Thank you, Lan, for all of the love you have given me," she said while hugging my tightly.

"Kuroyukihime!" I cried, tears now flowing down freely.

"I love you."

She kissed me on the cheek and told me to let go. I couldn't! If I let go, she would be gone forever.

_But if you don't, you'll both die. _Another voice spoke to me.

I softened my grip on her and let my arms fall to my sides. She touched my face one more time with her left hand and a tear rolled down the left side of her face. She turned away and walked towards her original body.

"Physical Full Burst!" she commanded proudly.

Her avatar glowed brightly and then disappeared into her original body. Immediately afterwards, it began to glow yellow and her body started to move. Little by little, she readjusted her body and put her arms up. I watched her do this with awe and sadness in my eyes. At last, her face forced a smile and then pushed my body aside. At the same time, I was forced out of acceleration and returned to the real world.

* * *

It all happened in an instant. An instant was not the same for me compared to most of the other people who resided in Tokyo. An instant felt long and almost unbearable, especially at a time like this. When I returned, I saw Kuroyukihime in mid-air, falling gracefully. I was also falling, but at the same time, uttering the command Physical Burst to save Kuroyukihime.

I did not say it in time.

_I'll help you save her. _Said a deep, male voice inside of my head.

The car hit her fragile body and sent her flying backwards. It was at this moment that I had finished saying the command and sprung forward to catch her. I moved faster than I have ever moved in my entire life. I caught her and kept going forward to avoid the impact of the car as well. I twisted my body and landed on my back to cushion her fall. Although I did not save her from the impact of the crash, I saved her from the impact of the concrete and perhaps more injuries.

Dark red blood stained my white sweatshirt and my jeans. Kuroyukihime stared at me with the almond-brown eyes with a fading glow to them. Her gentle lips moved slowly and uttered her last words.

_Sorry._

_Goodbye._

And with that, her breathing slowed to a dangerously low rate and her eyes lost their light.

"No..." I croaked. Tears began to stream down my eyes as I held the crippled Black King in my arms. I didn't know what to do to save her. All I could do was wait and pray for her life.

Paramedics and emergency services arrived at the scene quickly. I stood up with my knees shaking uncontrollably and gently set her down on a stretcher. The paramedics quickly rushed her into the ambulance and drove quickly to the closest hospital. I rode in the back with the paramedics, unwilling to leave her side. They were doing all they could right now to keep her alive.

_She'll live. She has to live. There's nothing for me to live for if she doesn't. _

_Even if she dies, you should keep on moving forward. _Said that voice again.

_There's no point on moving forward if she isn't here by my side._ I said to that voice.

The voice didn't come back and remained silent. If I could guess, this was the voice of the original Red Hero. Not Omega, but the Burst Linker Omega was based off of.

We arrived at the hospital and Kuroyukihime was rushed into the emergency room. I stood outside of the doors and faced them for as long as my legs could support me. Nurses would come by to comfort me, to tell me that it was going to be all right. Part of me hoped that she was still alive and another part of me said that there was no use and that she was dead.

_Calm down, Lan. Sit down and think for a bit. _He spoke.

I obeyed his command and sat down on the nearest bench, feeling lost and hopeless. I was also powerless. I couldn't do anything but wait. If only... If only I was level 9! We both could have used the command and escaped scotch-free! It was worth it, to use 99% of our points to save our own lives.

Because I was deep in thought, I didn't see a person walk by and sit down next to me. I didn't hear her coming over, even though she was the only person who made the loudest noises when walking. I didn't notice her until she put her arms around me and buried her face into my shoulder. I felt her tears soak through the sweatshirt and heard her crying quietly.

"Fuuko..." I said with an emotionless, dry voice.

She eventually controlled her sobs and held my left hand with hers and spoke quietly.

"Y-You should really... take off that d-dirty sweatshirt."

I reluctantly took it off and folded it neatly. There was quite a bit of blood on it, but none of it soaked through onto my shirt that was underneath. I placed it on my lap and continued to blankly stare at the ground.

"You know, Saa-chan would have wanted us to stay strong at a time like this," she said.

"I know," I mumbled. "But I can't help but feel hopeless."

Fuuko remained by my side for a long time. We didn't speak to each other, since there was nothing else to say. We just waited for news from the doctor.

The emergency room's doors opened and a nurse stepped out. She walked over to me and gently tapped my shoulder. I stared at her with emptiness in my eyes and waited for her to tell us the news.

"These next twelve hours will be critical for her recovery. Until then, you should go home and try to focus on other things," she said.

"I'm staying here. I'm not leaving her side," I replied.

"I guess I can't change your mind," she said, shaking her head. "You'll be able to view her status through the hospital's network, so if you ever want to see how she's doing, you can check."

"Thank you. Is it possible for me to see her physically?" I asked.

"I'm sorry. She's been sealed inside the micro-machine to recover more efficiently."

"I see."

The nurse handed me a small bloodstained green booklet. It was her student handbook for Umesato Middle School.

"Keep this until she recovers, alright?"

I slowly nodded and held the handbook firmly in my right hand. The nurse left me alone with Fuuko again, who was still holding my left hand.

"It's about time you learned her real name," she said.

"Real name?" I asked, puzzled.

"Her real name isn't Kuroyukihime, you dummy!" she said, laughing. It warmed my heart to see her still smiling at a time like this.

"I feel stupid now," I said, laughing as well.

"Maybe you should ask her yourself after she's recovered. She might get mad at you for looking at her personal things."

"Alright."

"Also, do you want some food? I'll bring some for you if you plan to stay the entire night."

"Yeah. She and I were on our way to get some food before..."

She nodded and understood. She quietly got up and walked out of the hospital. I didn't even tell her what I wanted. Oh well, it was fine. She usually made good food anyway.

I took a look at the student handbook and noticed that it was creased to one page, which indicated that Kuroyukihime almost always had this page open during school or something. If I had to guess, it was probably a picture of me or something of the sorts. I opened the book up to that page and my guess was correct.

The picture surely was me, but it was edited heavily with some sort of photo-editor. The picture was a portrait of myself in this world and the Accelerated World. The left half of the face was what I looked at in the mirror every day, with a half smile. The right side was someone I became through the power of acceleration, the Red Hero. His eye was pitch-black and he had a serious face on. Although our hair length was vastly different, Kuroyukihime did a good job of lining them up so that Red Hero's golden hair was an extension of my brown hair.

A half an hour later and Fuuko came back with a bag of food and a blanket. We ate her homemade food, which was delicious, and she tried to cheer me up. It helped lighten the mood, but didn't cheer me up that much. I was glad that she cared about both Kuroyukihime and me, though. I wouldn't know where I would be if Fuuko wasn't here.

"It's getting late," she said at the end of the meal. "I'm going to head home now. Take care of Kuroyukihime for me, okay?"

"Alright," I said, noticing that it was past nine at night.

Fuuko hugged me and then left the hospital with a smile on her face, telling me to keep praying for Kuroyukihime. I wrapped the blanket that she brought around me and leaned against the wall. The blanket smelled like Fuuko, which was pleasant and heartwarming.

I began to think about why the car was aiming for both me and Kuroyukihime. If her sister wanted us to die that badly, then sending a car would've been the perfect plan. Although she might have calculated the fact that Kuroyukihime would use the Physical Full Burst command. If so, she could figure out where Kuroyukihime was being held and come finish her off. Either White Cosmos herself would come or she would send a mercenary or something.

The hospital wasn't open to visitors right now, so the chances of her sister arriving was very slim. Still, I needed to keep my guard up. I decided to take a nap until three in the morning, then I would accelerate anytime a visitor popped in. I checked to see how many points I had and found a huge surprise. I had an abnormally large amount of points, well over 13,000!

_Huh. I don't remember fighting THAT many Burst Linkers... _I thought.

_You defeated Omega and got all of his points. _The voice answered.

_But... X killed him._

_Still, the points were transferred to you for some reason._

This was unexpected.

_Why wasn't I informed of this BEFORE Kuroyukihime used Physical Full Burst?_

I received no answer from the voice. Was he on my side or was he here to distract me from my true goal?

I decided I would figure that out later and set the alarm on my Neuro Linker for 3 AM. I rested my head against the wall and fell into a sleepless dream.


	25. Chapter 25 - Retribution

(What Kuroyukihime's sister looks like is more than likely 99% not canon. The same goes for her duel avatar's attacks and personality.)

The alarm from my Neuro Linker went off and woke me up. It was a loud buzz that only I could hear, so I didn't disturb anyone else in the hospital. I accelerated to see if Kuroyukihime was still a Burst Linker. Thankfully, when I looked at the matching list, Red Hero and Black Lotus appeared. I sighed and returned to the real world.

Although it still wasn't opening hours, I continued to be on the lookout for any people that may enter. I accelerated every five minutes in case they entered through a side door. It was fortunate that I sat on a bench that had a direct view of the front door.

Soon enough, eight o'clock rolled around and people started to come in, slowly at first. The news of Kuroyukihime being hit by a car must have spread throughout the entire school by now, as well as the entire city. Car accidents were extremely rare nowadays. However, this was no accident. Her sister, White Cosmos, was the one who planned all of this.

Just before noon arrived, I saw a girl who looked almost exactly like Kuroyukihime. She was about the same height, slender, and beautiful. Her hair, however, was almond brown and her eyes were pitch-black, the complete opposite of Kuroyukihime. If I had to guess, this was her sister. Before I could give her the chance to connect to the hospital's network to finish off Kuroyukihime, I accelerated.

I looked through the matching list but did not find White Cosmos! It seems like she wasn't connected to the Global Network! I gritted my teeth in irritation and returned to the real world. She was tapping her virtual windows, probably attempting to connect to the hospital's network.

Before I knew it, I accelerated!

_What the hell?! I didn't even say the command!_

Then I realized that someone had challenged me. Was it one of White Cosmos' henchmen? There was only one way to find out. The hospital didn't disappear, but was instead remodeled into a more sinister stage, the Purgatory stage. I returned to the Accelerated World as Red Hero once again and looked up at my HUD to figure out who my opponent was.

It was none other than White Cosmos herself. But how? I didn't see her say the command to accelerate!

A tall and slim figure appeared before me and pulled out a small ball of light.

"Hello, Hero-kun. Are you here to protect my sister?" she asked cynically.

"I am, but you challenged me first," I replied.

"I thought you would be faster. After all, speed is a Burst Linker's best weapon."

"Are you mocking me?"

"What if I am? There's nothing you can do even if you beat me, you know."

"Is that so?" I said, getting rid of my red coat. It would only get in the way here, so I put it into my inventory.

I pulled out my Hero Sword and dashed straight at her. She threw the ball of light up and it expanded in size. It continued to rise and destroy the ceiling, allowing White Cosmos to jump to the rooftop. I chased after her, trying to land a clean hit with my beam saber. I couldn't hit her since she kept jumping out of the way every time I swung my blade. Soon, we made it to the rooftop and I found a big surprise waiting for me.

At the top of the hospital was a flat battlefield surrounded by thick wires that had thorns on them. On both ends of the building were elevators. On the wires and on top of the elevators were Burst Linkers from every Legion, including Nega Nebulous. I saw Sky Raker, Silver Crow, and two other Burst Linkers standing next to him. One was a large blue one with a pile driver and the other was a green one with a bell-like weapon and a wizard hat. Those must have been his friends and probably the newest members of Nega Nebulous.

"How did they all get here?" I asked.

"I was just connected to the Global Network and told quite a bit of people to auto-spectate you. I want everyone to see the famous Red Hero kneel to the White King," she laughed evilly.

"I see."

I even saw the Four Guardians and X in the spectating area! This was a battle I wasn't going to lose. No, I had to win in one go. But how? If she loses the fight, she'll just lose some respect from all of these people. That didn't mean anything when her ultimate goal was to be the world's queen. So I had only one option left.

I opened up the menu and opened up the point management screen. The system said that I was able to level up to level 8, so I hit the option to and accepted it. I lost four thousand points instantly.

"W-What are you doing?" White Cosmos asked.

"Leveling up to level 9," I said calmly.

"You don't have enough points! You haven't even been a Burst Linker for a year yet!"

"After the defeat of Omega, who stripped Burst Linkers of all their points ruthlessly, I gained all of the points he had in possession. Before I leveled up to eight, which was just a few seconds ago, I had a total of 13,478 points. Now I have a total of 9,478 points."

"Level 9 costs eight thousand points..." she murmured.

"And I plan to use eight thousand of that nine thousand I currently have."

And so, I leveled up one more time to level 9. The system told me about how to get to level 10 and the rewards of getting to level 9, which was the Physical Full Burst command and other things. I spent my two level-up bonuses on my close quarters combat efficiency, maxing it. I was now the deadliest close quarters fighter in the Accelerated World. I felt confident in a battle even against the Blue King himself.

"And now that I'm level 9, I can defeat you and completely eliminate your presence in the Accelerated World," I said.

"A-Are you really going to do that?" White Cosmos asked.

"Do I sense fear in the White King?" I asked mockingly.

_"_I_ don't fear anything!" _she snarled.

I laughed and waved my Hero Sword around. "Then let's fight to the death. Black Lotus would never back down from a challenge like this. Rather, she would be eager to fight another level 9 Burst Linker."

"Don't compare me to _her!_" she roared.

I switched to Active Form and appeared behind White Cosmos in a flash. I was going to take full advantage of my overpowered abilities and destroy White Cosmos. Her eyes probably widened with shock as I reappeared behind her and stabbed her abdomen. She threw a ball of light at me and I stepped to the side, avoiding it entirely as it expanded. I kicked it away and then smashed my fist into the back of her head, sending her flying forwards.

"Spectral Light!" she yelled.

A portal appeared and rays of light shot out and homed in on me. I was struck by a few rays and 20% of my HP bar went down, no thanks to my Active Form's weak defense. I was a flash of orange on the battlefield, dodging the rest of the rays and attacking White Cosmos in the process with incredible speed.

"Speed is a Burst Linker's best weapon, right White Cosmos?" I said.

She growled and attempted a kick, but I sliced her leg off without mercy. She screamed in pain and I kicked her into the wall. I switched to my Hero Gun and shot multiple shots of energy at her, dealing a good amount of damage. I then used Double Shot Wave to finish it off and all three hits landed. However, only 50% of her HP was gone, which was unfortunate for her, since that meant I could hurt her some more.

I dashed into the hole in the wall and pulled White Cosmos out by her head. I wasn't sure if white-colored duel avatars were susceptible to decapitation, so I didn't attempt one. Instead, I just stabbed her with my Hero Sword again and threw her back onto the battlefield.

"Some King," I muttered.

"I'll kill you!" she roared.

Orbs of light appeared around her and shone brightly. I looked away quickly, being careful to not blind myself. Although she was as bright as the sun, I couldn't stare at it directly without hurting my eyes. It was also hard to tell what she was going to do in this shield. How did X manage to defeat her defense?

I was hit in the back of the head and was flung forward. My head hit the ground as I switched to Defense Form to survive the barrage of hits. I closed my eyes to avoid being blinded by her radiating light that began to surround me as she grabbed my body. I felt something sharp puncture my abdomen and I gasped out in pain.

I was thrown aside and stomped on by the White King. I had only lost 50% of my HP so far thanks to my Defense Form. To retaliate, I switched to my Shield Boomerang and threw it in her direction. It hit a few orbs of light and her blinding light became dimmer. I grinned in response and returned to my normal form, throwing my Shield Boomerang to take out more lights.

A spear that was made of the same material as a Rekkoha pillar pierced my right arm and rendered it unusable for the time being. Despite the pain, I caught my Shield Boomerang with that hand and dodged the incoming spears that were being hurled at me.

"Orbit Shield!" I commanded as I threw my Shield Boomerang.

My shield revolved around me and blocked all of the spears that were thrown at me. Thanks to my shield, most of her orbs of light were gone and I could see her without blinding myself. I took this opportunity to dash up to her and threaten her with my Shield Boomerang. She backed off and avoided me as much as possible.

I switched to my Hero Gun and used Double Shot Wave, surprising White Cosmos. Although this was a move that Omega Zero used constantly, I didn't use it much and White Cosmos never expected me to use it. She was hit by all three shots and was disabled for the time being. She had about 25% of her HP remaining after all three hits landed.

"Rekkoha!" I said as I pounded my fist to the ground.

Pillars of light came down and crushed White Cosmos, depleting the rest of her HP gauge. The duel was over. I finally ended the nightmare that White Cosmos started for Kuroyukihime.

Unfortunately, the duel was not over. It was like my first fight with Omega, where I assumed the duel was over and a victory message would pop up. None of that happened here.

As the dust cleared, a dark-winged object appeared above White Cosmos, sprinkling black and purple dust on her.

"What... is that?" I asked.

"Dark Elf! Give me the power to crush that Hero!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs.

The thing that she called the Dark Elf slowly floated down and merged with White Cosmos. Her HP bar refilled back up to 100% and her form changed, much like Omega. Was that the reason why he could revive himself? Because he had White Cosmos' revival power within him plus this Dark Elf? He also had something called the Disaster Armor as well. Why didn't I talk to Kuroyukihime about that? I sighed at how easily distracted I was.

White Cosmos' slender body quickly morphed into an uglier, bulkier form. Her fingers became claw-like and her feet became pointed. She sprouted black and red wings that were nothing like Silver Crow's. Rather than beautiful and majestic white wings, these were malignant and unattractive black ones. Her clear colored glass was now a dirty grey, tainted by the Dark Elf.

"Let's end this, shall we?" she asked in a distorted voice.

"Let's do it!" I replied, hiding my fear.

She pulled out a black sword from her waist and thrust forward. I dashed forward and our blades met with a loud ring.

(Once again, I don't know how many points it costs to level up from 8 to 9, so I made up a random amount. 8000 is a lot, though. Around 900 wins if you calculate it correctly, I think.)


	26. Chapter 26 - Destruction

White Cosmos was much stronger and more aggressive than before. After clashing blades, she moved back instead of pushing like the typical Burst Linker. She summoned dark orbs and shot them at me. Like her light ones, these expanded in air and destroyed most of the rooftop, which in turn increased her special attack gauge. Unfortunately for me, my health bar remained at 50%, proving to be quite a disadvantage, especially in a situation like this.

Although her form and attacks were monstrous, I didn't let the fear get a hold of me like it did with Fefnir. I remained calm and analyzed my opponent's move pattern. Although Burst Linkers weren't very predictable, the way they executed their moves over and over gave me a hint as to what attack they were going to use next. White Cosmos, for example, lifted her left arm up all the time to summon those orbs that expanded. Her right was used to summon the ones that blinded me.

Her right arm began to rise as I dashed back to avoid her black sword, which was razor sharp, and she summoned black orbs this time. They enveloped her and then she disappeared! It looks like this Dark Elf changed her from a 'light element' to a 'dark element', since all of her attacks were now tainted with darkness.

"Guard Shell!" I commanded.

The familiar oval-shaped shield of light appeared in front of me instantly. To block her attacks, I would have to be the one using Incarnation first, despite the fact that Fuuko told me to only use Incarnation when my opponent did. Now was not the time for that.

I heard a sword being drawn behind me and I whipped around as fast as I could. My Guard Shell completely stopped the hit and I dashed forward. I stabbed White Cosmos in the abdomen with my Hero Sword and attempted to slice her in half. However, her body was extremely rigid and tough all of a sudden! The moment I stabbed through, she made her body as tough as diamond so I couldn't slash through.

I pulled my sword out and attempted another strike but then she quickly slashed me with her sword, maneuvering around my Guard Shell. As a result, my left arm was nearly sliced off and my torso suffered a lot of pain. My HP was down to 35% now. Now if I had the ability to revive myself, this battle would last much longer than thirty minutes.

"Sogenmu!" I commanded.

My special attack gauge went down a lot lower than I expected. This move wasn't that powerful, it seemed. I began to glow multiple colors and nothing more happened. Maybe this increased my attack power? If it did, it wouldn't last for very long if it didn't consume that much of my special attack gauge.

I dashed forward and noticed that White Cosmos was hesitating to retaliate. What did she notice?

I used Reppuugeki to deal extra damage and hit her dead on. Then I used Shoeunga to fling her into the air. Strangely enough, she didn't go flying. I wondered why until I noticed a shadow of me use Shoeunga as well, which then sent her up in front of me. So that's what Sogenmu was, it created a duplicate of myself. Then again, I could have guessed earlier since it meant 'Twin Phantasms'.

I struck her down with all my might like I did with Omega. I knew what everyone was expecting since I used this combo very frequently. White Cosmos even expected my next attack, which was going to be Rakuretsuzan. I changed tactics and used Sentsuizan, a more powerful version that consumed more of my special attack gauge. Instead of falling to the ground and holding my saber down, I dashed towards the ground with immense speed holding my saber out. As it struck White Cosmos and pierced her defenses, it shook the hospital building violently.

"Hah... Not bad, Hero," White Cosmos gasped. "But you'll never be able to win."

She kicked me off of her and flew into the air with her wings extended to the fullest. I switched to my Hero Gun to shoot multiple shots at her, but she dodged all of them with ease. I couldn't use the Shield Boomerang, since it was too slow and she was out of my range. I used Charged Shot, hoping I would scratch her, but she dodged it as well.

In response to my frantic shooting, she laughed evilly and used her entire special attack gauge.

"Apocalyptic Catastrophe!" she cried loudly.

Dark orbs began to gather in a ball in front of her quickly. More and more gathered and made a giant dark ball of energy that she held in both of her hands. I switched to Defense Form to take the hit as best as I could, as well as pulling out my Shield Boomerang. I focused all of my willpower onto my Guard Shell, hoping it would stop the attack.

She launched her special attack and the crowd grew silent, watching the fight intently now. The ball of darkness flew quickly into my Guard Shell and stopped for a few moments. The giant ball of energy slowly pushed me back and slowly disintegrated my Guard Shell. Soon, my Guard Shell was no more and then it moved onto my Shield Boomerang. Instantly, it shattered to pieces and disappeared.

_My weapon..._

The ball then enveloped me with a pitch black darkness. I couldn't see a single thing outside of it because it was so dark. This was the opposite of her original attack, which was meant to blind me. But this attack depleted her entire special attack gauge. Was this all it did?

Then I felt it expand and explode with a loud, earth-shattering bang. I was forced back into my normal form after I received the hit, losing nearly all of my HP. I was hanging on a thread now with less than 5% of my HP left.

Where the ball exploded left a giant crater. However, it was deep enough so that the entire building wouldn't collapse on itself. My entire body felt fatigued and useless. But I had to keep fighting, or else I would lose my Brain Burst here and not after Dr. Weil was defeated.

"You had a good run, playing as the Hero. But now it's over," White Cosmos said, still high in the air.

Time slowed as she thrusted herself down with her black sword out, ready to finish me off. These were my final moments in this world.

_I'm sorry, Kuroyukihime. I couldn't keep my Brain Burst until the end._

_I know it seems hopeless now, but don't give up yet. _The voice in my head said.

_I don't have a weapon and my body is utterly destroyed. What can I do? _I asked.

_You can stand and fight with your fists. _

_Stand and fight, huh? _

I side-stepped White Cosmos' attack and kicked her to the side. She was caught off guard by my fast maneuvering, even though my body was in ruins. I held my hand out, imagining my Hero Sword with all of my might. Although it would probably take days of practice to make a stable sword, I needed something right now.

"Hero Sword!" I commanded.

In a burst of light, the real Hero Sword appeared in front of me, rather than an Incarnated one. Although surprised, I took it with gratitude and faced White Cosmos once again.

"Still got the will to fight, I see," she remarked.

"Of course. We Burst Linkers were made to fight. Or did you forget that?" I sneered.

_A new form has awakened..._

_The Ultimate Form has become available. _

How did I unlock that right now? What were the requirements and how did I fulfill them at all this moment? It didn't matter right now, since the only thing that mattered was winning this fight.

"Ultimate Form!" I roared.

My primary crimson red color shined and became a deeper tone of red. Not a darker one like Omega Zero's but more of a pure red. My secondary color of black glowed and was a light shade of purple. Although my HP was still at a dangerously low level, I felt like I had just entered the battlefield, brimming with energy.

"So that's what you were keeping up your sleeve," White Cosmos remarked.

_With this power, you can execute your special attacks without depleting the special attack gauge. You will also be able to use Charged Shot without charging energy. Your giga attacks, however, still consume a good amount of your special attack gauge. _That voice explained.

"Thank you," I whispered.

I glared at White Cosmos with determination in my eyes and flew forward, roaring a battle cry at the top of my lungs. She thrust her sword forward but I used Shadow Dash to go right through her. I twisted my body around and used Ranbu, the deadly seven-hit combo Omega used on me. It was my triple-slash combo, with the last hit being an uppercut, being executed twice and then a non-elemental charged Shoeunga. This was all done in less than three seconds.

"Why you...!"

I used Charged Shot and smashed her with my saber, dealing enough damage to put her HP down to 10%. However, her special attack gauge was full again, so she rose back into the air to use Apocalyptic Catastrophe. She charged it up and unleashed it faster than last time.

"This is the end!" she laughed maniacally.

"Ittou Ryoudan: Genmurei!" I roared.

My special attack gauge went down immensely as I executed the attack. I swung my Hero Sword with all of my might and two large green sonic booms appeared in the shape of a crescent moon. They sliced the giant ball of energy in half and it exploded in the air, causing the earth to shake once more. The sonic booms continued to fly through the air and struck White Cosmos directly, slicing her in half as well.

_After all, Ittou Ryoudan is the art of splitting someone in half in one stroke. _I thought to myself.

White Cosmos screamed in misery and dark grey data began to purge out of her, like what happened with Omega. It was the end of White Cosmos, which also marked the end of Kuroyukihime's nightmare.

I watched carefully for the Dark Elf to reappear and escape, but nothing like that happened. White Cosmos was no more and the Dark Elf was also no more. But if Omega carried one and White Cosmos carried one, then there had to be more! Was Weil creating copies?

After the data purge ended, the crowd went wild. The White Legion members began to scream and yell at me, obviously distressed about losing their Legion master. Nega Nebulous and several other legions cheered and clapped. I walked up to Nega Nebulous and was embraced by the two existing members. I shook hands with the new members, Cyan Pile and Lime Bell.

"It's an honor to be in the presence of the Red Hero," Cyan Pile said, bowing his head.

"I-I'm not anything special, r-really," I said in embarrassment.

"Please show us how to be as strong as you one day!" Lime Bell suddenly said, also bowing her head.

I laughed nervously and tried to tell them that I wasn't worth bowing down to, but then I realized that I was worth it. I defeated the God of Destruction and now the White King. I was the most overpowered duel avatar in existence, especially now that I had my Ultimate Form. Of course, when the threat of Dr. Weil was eliminated, I would no longer be here.

"She's waiting for you, you know," Sky Raker whispered to me.

"Where?" I asked.

She pointed to the elevator opposite of where we were standing. I nodded and thanked her. I jumped down and dashed to the elevator. I pressed the button to descend and the door opened, letting me inside. I waved to the spectators and stepped in. The doors closed and the elevator began to descend slowly into the hospital.

I took a look at the time and noticed that there was about 360 seconds left, which was about six minutes. It was plenty of time to reunite with Kuroyukihime. The elevator stopped and opened to a wide-open floor with a capsule lying in the middle. Multiple wires were connected to it from various directions. I slowly stepped closer to see if she was in there, careful not to trip over any wires. I peered in and saw Kuroyukihime's school avatar unconscious still.

I gently caressed her face, feeling its softness even in a virtual world. Her eyes slowly blinked themselves open and she stared at me with her brown eyes that were full of life.

"You fought for me, didn't you?" she asked in a soft voice.

"I ended your nightmare. You don't need to worry about your sister anymore," I said, holding back tears.

She slowly sat up and touched my face gently with her right hand.

"All this damage... and those bright colors!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, this? It's my Ultimate Form," I chuckled.

"It brings out your best colors."

"Really? You think so?"

"Of course! You just look awful because you just finished a tough battle."

"I look awful now?!"

We laughed about it for a while before I was reminded that I didn't have much time left before the duel was over. I helped her out of the capsule and carried her to the elevator. I hit the button to ascend back up and the elevator responded by closing the doors. We moved slowly but surely and made it back to the top. A crimson red sky greeted us when we exited the elevator. Sky Raker and the rest of Nega Nebulous also greeted us. Lime Bell and Cyan Pile introduced themselves to Kuroyukihime as she stepped onto the field.

"We'll do our best to make your legion the greatest!" Cyan Pile said.

"They helped me with getting my wings back, so they'll be a great addition to the legion!" Silver Crow added.

"Alright, alright. You two can join," Kuroyukihime chuckled.

"Is that what you really look like?" Lime Bell asked. "You're so beautiful!"

Kuroyukihime widened her eyes and blushed, surprised that she was being complimented by another girl but also embarrassed because her school avatar resembled her in real life.

"S-Sort of," she nervously said back.

"Uhm, sorry to interrupt, but the duel is almost over," I interjected.

"Oh! Sorry!" Lime Bell exclaimed. "Hey, how about we all meet in real life soon?"

"Seriously?" I asked. I wasn't sure if it was a smart idea.

"We're all part of the same legion now, right? It wouldn't do any harm," Cyan Pile added.

"Kuroyukihime?" I said, waiting for her response. She was the leader, so she made the decisions.

"Alright. I see no harm in it."

I gave them the location of which hospital Kuroyukihime was located at. I told them that they could probably visit next week or the week after since she was recovering from the car crash that they had nearly forgotten about.

"I'm sorry. I forgot!" Lime Bell apologized.

"No, it's fine. She wasn't someone you knew, so it's easy to forget," I said.

The time limit was reached shortly afterwards and I returned to the real world, face to face with Kuroyukihime's sister. Although she was no longer a threat in the Accelerated World, she was still a threat in the real world.

She walked towards me slowly with uncertainty in her eyes. Was she planning to hurt me in the real world somehow? But these weren't the cold eyes from before. They were different, as if she was wondering where she was right now.

"Are you Lan?" she asked me in a polite voice.

Where had the coldness gone?

"Yeah. Come sit with me, I'll tell you what happened," I said, gesturing to the bench I was sitting on seconds ago. It felt like hours, but that was because I had fought against Kuroyukihime's sister in the Accelerated World. What was she planning?

Before I knew it, she broke down crying on my shoulder, like Fuuko.

_What the hell is going on?_


	27. Chapter 27 - Compilation

(Name of White Cosmos is non-canon and so is Kuroyukihime's real name. I'm basing it off the fact that they are the children of Kirigaya Kazuto and Yuuki Asuna from SAO.)

After talking with Kuroyukihime's sister, who I found out to be Kirigaya Yuuki, I realized that she had lost all of her memories that pertained to Brain Burst and the Accelerated World. She didn't remember our fight, Omega, or anything that had happened in the past that involved the Accelerated World. Was it really possible for a program to erase, or at the very least, seal, memories?

"You're her boyfriend, right?" she asked me.

"Yeah. We've been dating for six months or so now," I said.

"Wow... She's so lucky to have such a cute boyfriend like you!"

"Uhm, thanks... I guess?" I chuckled nervously. I hadn't been complimented like that by anyone other than Kuroyukihime.

"Were you with her when the accident happened?"

"Yeah. I'm not sure how I got out of there unscathed," I lied.

I debated on whether or not reminding her of what she planned on doing was a good idea. Actually, I wasn't even sure if Yuuki had planned to kill Kuroyukihime. Perhaps Dr. Weil did it and Yuuki was just here to finish her off. Or Dr. Weil knew that I had the potential of defeating Yuuki and sent her here to get rid of her. Maybe he thought that he didn't need a queen and wanted the power all to himself.

"Hey, sorry for the random question, but do you know anyone by the name of Weil?" I asked suddenly.

"Uhm... Let's see..." she thought aloud. "I think I've heard of the name, but I'm not sure I know a person with the name of Weil."

"Ah. That's alright. Don't worry about it," I said quickly.

A nurse came by and told me that Kuroyukihime was recovering well and that I could visit her next week. I thanked her and left with Yuuki, who showed me where she lived. She introduced her parents, Kirigaya Kazuto and Asuna, to me and I introduced myself as well. Looking at her parents, I could clearly tell whose features were whose. Kuroyukihime had black hair, which came from her father, and brown eyes, which came from her mother.

"I'm glad I can finally meet my daughter's boyfriend," Kazuto said, shaking my hand.

"It's an honor to meet her father," I said, slightly embarrassed.

"I didn't know you would be so cute!" Asuna remarked, observing my physical features.

"Asuna, please don't grope our daughter's boyfriend," Kazuto joked.

"E-Eh?! I'm not groping him!" she exclaimed.

We all laughed in response. I was surprised to see Kuroyukihime's family to be so friendly. I suppose that this was what it was like before she received the Brain Burst program from her sister.

"You know, we kicked her out of the house because she stabbed Yuuki in the hand with a knife," Kazuto said.

"She did that?" I asked, widening my eyes.

"Yeah. I kicked her out so she could spend some time to recuperate. She's been acting strange for a long time now."

_It's probably because her sister did something to her in the Accelerated World and she got angry over it. But why would Kuroyukihime do physical harm? She didn't seem like the type of person to do that. Now, maybe. But before she met me, she was probably more impulsive and rash..._

"You can welcome her back home after she's been discharged from the hospital. She's a fine girl now," I said, smiling.

"All because she met you, eh?"

"M-Maybe," I replied, embarrassed.

"Oh yes! Lan-kun, would you like to stay for lunch?" Asuna asked me.

"Oh, uhm, I dunno..."

"You should stay. Asuna makes pretty good sandwiches. It was one of the main reasons we got married!" Kazuto said cheerfully.

"Kirito-kun!" Asuna exclaimed, blushing.

"Kiri...to?" I asked, confused. A nickname of some sorts, it seemed?

"Oh, that. That was my username back when I was playing a video game. That's where I met Asuna, who used her real name," Kazuto replied.

"Oh. I see."

That was strange, though, to call someone by their in game username in real life. Kuroyukihime didn't run around calling me Red Hero everywhere!

So I stayed at the Kirigaya's to have lunch with them. Kazuto was right, Asuna did make really good sandwiches! After eating lunch, we had a nice talk about school and how I was doing. You know, the usual interview boyfriends get with their girlfriend's parents. After that, I left to go back to school to make sure I made up what I had missed. I also got a hold of Megumi and got her to keep track of Kuroyukihime's homework.

A lot of people asked me what had happened and I told them all the exact same thing. A car came out of nowhere and Kuroyukihime got hit by it. I didn't tell them that it was doing of a crazy and evil person who planned to conquer the world, since it sounded silly to the normal middle school student.

Miyazuki was the only person I could talk to truthfully, since he was a fellow Burst Linker as well. He should be informed of Dr. Weil's plan to rule the world. So I told him about the past week and what happened. The fights with Omega, the elimination of White Cosmos (come to think of it, he wasn't spectating the fight when it happened), the Four Guardians, and Dr. Weil.

"This plan to rule the world using the Accelerated World is pretty crazy, you know?" he said after I finished telling him the summary of last week.

"I know, but this Dr. Weil sounds ambitious. I'm not sure how he'll do it myself, but he's got a plan going. I mean, he planned-" I cut myself off and gazed around the classroom, making sure there weren't people eavesdropping.

"To kill Kuroyukihime and me," I said almost inaudibly.

"He was driving the car?" Miyazuki asked in the same volume.

"No, nobody was. But cars just don't come out of nowhere and hit people, right?"

"True. How are you going to find him?"

"I don't know. But Ciel and the others are trying to figure out where he is right now. When they do, I'll be notified and another operation will begin."

"Alright. Good luck out there, Lan. I'm not really involved in this, so I'll stay out of it. You have my support, though!"

I nodded and thanked him before the teacher came into the class and the lesson started.

* * *

After school, I headed home and took a long nap. I barely slept this morning since I was waiting for White Cosmos to appear, and school was drilling me hard again, so I was extremely tired. I couldn't visit Kuroyukihime until next week, so the only thing I had in store for me was school. However, if Ciel and the others found out Weil's location, I may have to fight him without Kuroyukihime's help.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I accelerated.

_Really? I was just about to enjoy a peaceful nap... _I thought irritably.

_You're still connected to the Global Net, remember? And those White Legion folks are gonna ride your ass pretty hard because you killed their King. _The voice from before said.

_You're still here?_

_Of course. I'm here until you're done with Weil. Don't mind me, you've got a fight to win._

_I would still like to know who you are. _

_A separate entity that resides in your Neuro Linker. The original Red Hero, or Zero as X and the others would call me._

I sighed and finally looked at who I was facing in the familiar End of the Century stage; I would have to find out more later. The opponent I was facing was blue colored, large, and carried a spear of some sorts. Why would a blue Burst Linker face me when my name was known throughout the entire Accelerated World as the best close quarters fighter? This was the reason why few blue Burst Linkers challenged me.

"Are you here to take revenge for your White King's death?" I asked.

"Yes! I'm going to take your head for doing that!" he cried.

I didn't really care for his name, since this was going to be an easy fight. I switched to Active Form and dashed behind him with incredible speed, the same tactic I used against White Cosmos. My opponent saw this coming, though, and thrusted his spear backwards. It was a spear with two sharp ends, to my disbelief, and it hit me in the abdomen. Because of my Active Form's weak defense, I lost 15% of my HP in one simple maneuver. The only upside to this was that my special attack gauge went up more than it would if I were in my normal form.

I sliced the spear in half in one stroke and used the flaming Shoeunga attack, causing my opponent to go flying into the air. I switched to my Hero Gun and shot him repeatedly, keeping him in the air. He executed a last-ditch effort and threw the other half of his spear at me. I narrowly dodged it and jumped high into the air. I switched to my Hero Sword and smashed him down into the ground. As I fell, I switched to my Recoil Rod and used Charged Shot. I aimed down as I landed, causing the burst of energy that came out to push my opponent further into the ground and bounce me back up into the air. Switching back to my Hero Sword, I used Rakuretsuzan and finished off my opponent, ending the duel fairly quickly.

Before I had the chance to Link Out and go to sleep, a spectator stepped out and asked me a question.

"Hero-san? Do you hate the White Legion?" she asked.

I hesitated a little before answering. Come to think of it, the problems that came to be originated from the White Legion. First starting off with Omega and now White Cosmos. It did seem like Nega Nebulous had a huge grudge against the White Legion, but then again, Black Lotus absolutely hated her sister.

"Not really, no. It's just a coincidence that I've been assaulting the White Legion," I answered with an awkward smile.

"Oh. I see. Sorry for bothering you, Hero-san!" she said hastily.

"No, it's fine. I'm not bothered at all."

"May I say one more thing?" she asked anxiously.

"Uhm, sure. Shoot."

"You fight really ruthlessly. It reminds me of Omega."

Those words shook me to the core. I stood stiff after hearing what she said and remained silent.

"D-Did I say... something wrong?"

"No, it's fine," I said before Linking Out suddenly.

Back in the real world, I laid in bed talking to that voice in my head.

_She said I reminded her of Omega. I don't want to be like him at all!_

_You did defeat that guy with no mercy. Omega did that too, but that was because he was hungry for points. All you wanted to do was sleep. _Red Hero chuckled.

_Still, I don't want to be known as the other Omega._

_You're nothing like him. Don't worry about it._

_Alright..._

There was a moment of silence before I said whatever was left on my mind.

_Say, Hero, are you fighting? _I asked.

_What do you mean?_

_I'm not really sure if I'm the one doing the fighting anymore. It's not my power that I'm using to fight, it's yours._

It was a while before Red Hero spoke again. I thought he had fallen asleep or ignored me until he spoke.

_It's true that you're using my power to fight, but you're the one doing all the work. I'm just the body. You're the heart._

_But you have your own heart. If you didn't have one, you wouldn't be speaking to me right now. _

_Huh. I guess you're right._

_Is it possible that the Burst Linker who was originally the Red Hero is also a part of you? Which in turn is a part of me? _

Good lord, this was confusing.

_I don't remember connecting with any humans._

_You're not... human? _I asked in disbelief. Was that even possible?

_I believe I was originally meant to be a fighting machine. _

A fighting machine, huh? That seemed true, since Red Hero was originally made by Dr. Weil and his true purpose was to fight X and the others. I guess when he met X, his reason for fighting changed and he turned against Weil. Still, he had human emotions and such. Was it possible for something that isn't a human to have human emotions?

_I suppose so. I don't recall a heart beating in my chest or feeling hungry._

_You heard my thoughts?! _I asked in disbelief.

_I hear some of them. Thoughts like 'What should I eat for tomorrow?' or 'What day is it today?' aren't heard by me._

_Oh, I see. Do you ever get tired of fighting?_

_The thought has never occurred to me._

_I see. So why didn't you talk to me back then? _I said, changing the subject.

_Because I was only half-conscious back then. I was fully conscious when you entered and exited Zero Fill back in that fight with Omega._

_I see._

I couldn't believe that there was another entity in my Neuro Linker. It was certainly possible to install an AI of some sorts into your Neuro Linker that found stuff for you, but to have something that was almost... almost _human _was somewhat scary.

_I'm scary now? _Red Hero said suddenly.

And that's how I spent my night, talking back and forth with Red Hero. He shared his stories of his adventures with his best friend, X, and the horrors he faced when that Dark Elf suddenly entered his body. Although those stories were absolutely entertaining, I couldn't help but drift off to sleep. But not before asking him one last question.

_Hey, Zero. Do you ever sleep?_

_Sometimes. There are times when I'm asleep and then suddenly wake up because you just started a battle._

I laughed and apologized to Zero for doing such a thing to him. Then I went into a deep sleep, dreaming of nothing yet again.


	28. Chapter 28 - Commotion

Throughout the entire week, I was talking to Zero in my head during lunch and after school. I learned more about himself and grew accustomed to his blunt personality. I couldn't visit Kuroyukihime at all because she was in such a critical condition still, so I decided to spend some time with her family instead. I got to know her sister more (of course, this was the Yuuki _before _Brain Burst tainted her personality) as well as her parents.

_Hey, do you think my personality was tainted with Brain Burst? _I asked the former Red Hero.

_Hmm? I wouldn't know, since I entered your life when Brain Burst was as well_. Was his blunt reply.

_Oh. I forgot._

_To give you a better answer, Brain Burst changes people for better or for worse. It depends on how you use the power of acceleration. From what I've witnessed over the past few months, you've gained confidence in real life compared to when you were first starting off. I can still hear your unsure thoughts, but you've become more mature. _

_Ahh. Thank you, Zero._

_Don't mention it. _

If I could, I would probably hug him or something for saying something like that.

_I wouldn't hug you_.

_W-What?! _

His only response was a chuckle. Was this what it felt like to have a friend by you every day? The only person I mingled with all the time was Kuroyukihime. I only talked to Miyazuki during school and never saw him after school or even in the Unlimited Field.

I was going to meet the real life counterparts of Silver Crow and his friends soon. When I do, will I begin to hang out with them regularly, or will I not because they live too far away?

_You think a lot. _Zero interrupted.

_I know I do. Why did you pick now of all times to tell me this? Haven't you always heard my thoughts? _

_Because you're feeling lonely. _

Zero was right. I was feeling lonely. Although I looked forward to spending time with Yuuki and her family, I was still lonely during school. I've made a lot of friends in the Accelerated World, but that's the only place I can see them. I had no idea where Fuuko lived, nor did I have a clue where the Four Guardians lived. Actually, come to think of it...

_Does Ciel live nearby?_

_I'll bring up her contact information. _

_What is this?! Zero being helpful? _I gasped.

_I've always been helpful, you twat. Do you want me to slice you?_

_You can't do that in my Neuro Linker._

_You're right... But I can do this! _

Right after he said that, a loud and shrill noise erupted into my ears. It was similar to the alarm that only I could hear.

_Okay, stop that! I'm sorry!_

_...How do I shut this thing off? _

_YOU IDIOT!_

I opened a few windows and stopped the sound as quickly as possible. I sighed and leaned against a nearby building.

_You should be more careful, Zero. You almost made me deaf._

_My bad. _

After I pulled up Ciel's contact information, I looked to see if she gave me an address. And unfortunately, she didn't. All that was there was her Neuro Linker's information so I could call her. I sighed and inputted it into my Neuro Linker in case I forget to later. After that I called her, hoping that she would answer.

_Lan, flirting with other girls while she's in the hospital isn't a very good idea._ Zero said.

_I'm not flirting! _

_I know. _He chuckled.

After a few moments, Ciel picked up.

"Hello, Lan-kun. It's been a while," she said.

"Hey Ciel. I was just wondering if you had any leads on Dr. Weil yet?" I asked.

"No. It's very difficult to track him since the only two people we knew who had direct contact with him are now ex-acceleration users."

"S-Sorry about that..."

"It's fine. We needed to get rid of them anyway."

"You know, White Cosmos also had that dark-winged object with her. She called it a 'Dark Elf'."

"..."

Ciel didn't say anything back for a few moments. She was probably trying to figure out what this Dark Elf was.

"Are you positive?" she asked.

"Yes, definitely."

"This is going to be troublesome."

"Huh? What?"

"I have to go. Sorry."

And just like that, she closed the call. I felt very confused as to what happened. I sighed and continued on my way home. I was recently at the Kirigaya's to eat some more of Asuna's sandwiches. Well, that was partially the reason why I went there every day. I felt like a part of the family, more so than mine. My parents were always out working, not having any time with me.

I entered my house and announced that I was home. As usual, nobody was there to welcome me back. I've always been alone ever since middle school started. It was so much easier back in the elementary school days. Is this what it's like to grow up?

I took off my school uniform and neatly folded it. After putting on some casual clothing, I slipped into bed and yawned loudly. I was tired, but at least I got to see Kuroyukihime soon. Maybe I should invite Yuuki also, just so they can make up...

I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

_Dreaming is difficult for you, huh? I've noticed that you haven't dreamt in a while. Maybe because there are too many things happening right now. Before, all you had to deal with was surviving as a Burst Linker. But once Silver Crow told you that rumor about Omega, you rushed in with guns blazing. You wanted a challenging opponent, and that's what you got. _

_However, after that, you became involved in something too big. It's all my fault, too. If I wasn't asleep in her Neuro Linker, none of this would have happened to you. You would have eventually toughened up and defeated Omega and that would've been that. You would be working hard to get up to her level and become her supporting partner. Instead, she's in the hospital and you can't reach out to those you love._

_I'm sorry._

"Ha. You don't have to be sorry for anything."

_Hmm? Did you say something?_

"It's not your fault. Dr. Weil was the one who created you, so all this happened because of one man's ambition to become the king of the world. Don't blame yourself for the hardships I'm facing."

_What are you trying to say?_

"You're my friend and I care about you. That's all."

_A friend, huh? The only person who has ever said that to me was..._

"X, right?"

_Yeah._

"Zero, get some sleep. I'm trying to sleep too."

_Your mind is actually trying to dream right now. I'll get to sleep soon. Don't worry about me. _

"If you say so."

* * *

Today was Monday. I decided to call in sick today to visit Kuroyukihime at the hospital. Thankfully, Miyazuki would keep track of the homework I missed. I headed to the Kirigaya's to get Yuuki to come too. Unfortunately, she was going to attend school, so I had to go alone. I shrugged it off and went to the hospital like I frequently did ever since last week. I came in every day hoping I could see Kuroyukihime early. Thanks to my lobbying, I got to see her this week.

"Hello, Lan-kun. She's being kept over here," said a nurse that noticed me. Since I was a regular here (I'm not sure if that was a good thing), most of the nurses knew who I was.

I thanked her and moved into the room where the ICU kept her. I entered and saw her lying in a bed with machines connected to her. She looked much better compared to the aftermath of the car crash. I quietly took a chair and sat down beside her. Even though there were machines around her, she still looked beautiful as ever. She looked at peace with her eyes closed and body so still.

I gently wrapped my right hand around her warm left hand and remained silent. To think that this would happen after she came back from her senior trip was unbelievable. I guess Weil didn't waste any time on removing his obstacles.

Kuroyukihime opened up her eyes slowly and glanced in my direction. She caught sight of me and smiled gently.

"You're... here," she breathed out.

"Of course I am. Don't push yourself too hard," I chuckled. Tears were about ready to come out.

"How are... things?"

"They're doing great. Finding Weil is still a problem, though."

"I... see."

"I chose to spend the whole day with you, so don't worry about me leaving."

She nodded slowly and smiled again.

_Ahh, so this is what love looks like..._

My head shot up and I grew irritated.

_Zero! You ruined the moment for me!_

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"N-Nothing," I simply answered. That's right, she doesn't know about the annoying voice-

_I'm not annoying._

_You're annoying me right now. Why are you even speaking right now?! _

_Huh. You're right. My bad, you're having a hear-to-heart conversation with your girlfriend right now._

_...You just realized that?_

The voice of the former Red Hero stopped speaking so I turned my attention back to Kuroyukihime, who stared at me intently.

"W-What? Is there something on my face?" I asked.

"No... It just looked like... you were arguing with someone... Are you in a call... right now?"

"Kind of..." I said anxiously.

Kuroyukihime giggled softly in response. I couldn't help but chuckle as well. Despite the circumstances, we still enjoyed each other's presence in our lives. That's why I wanted to stay with Kuroyukihime for the day, even if she couldn't talk much or move much. Was this what love felt like? When you didn't care if your partner couldn't do anything and just wanted to be there with them?

Thankfully, Zero didn't answer that question randomly. I rested my head near Kuroyukihime's body and felt her left hand caress my cheek. Even though I wasn't very tired, I fell asleep in her presence. Maybe because the bed was really comfortable... Or maybe it was because her touch was so soothing.

"Lan..." she whispered.

"Hmm?" I answered sleepily.

"I love you."

"I love you too..."

I then drifted into a peaceful slumber, dreaming of nothing but walking through the fields with Kuroyukihime.

(Nothing happened in this chapter! Except for bonding time between Lan and the voice in his Neuro Linker, Zero.)


	29. Chapter 29 - Restoration

_Two Weeks Later_

Silver Crow and his friends couldn't come visit Kuroyukihime last week since she was still in extensive care. Today was the day she was moved into the general recovery ward, and being the selfish person that I was, I wanted to be the only person in her room at this time. Over the last two weeks, I spent at least an hour every day with her after school. To catch up on my studies, I had Zero help me in the Accelerated World since he had nothing better to do but pay attention during class.

I walked to the hospital and greeted the nurses. They told me where Kuroyukihime was and I thanked them. I headed towards the elevator and felt nostalgic. I took an elevator to see her as well, but that was three weeks ago. Not only that, but it was in the Accelerated World after my fight with White Cosmos.

I stepped into the elevator and ascended slowly. I thought about the things that didn't happen in the past few weeks. Ciel and the others were still having trouble with finding Dr. Weil. He made himself new minions and they officially announced themselves as the Weil Numbers not too long ago. All of them were level 8... Burst Linkers? Was it even possible for a Burst Linker to reach level 8 within a few weeks without attention? Or was Dr. Weil a better hacker than Ciel and modified their levels?

Once the Weil Numbers appeared, duels became less and less frequent. Trouble started to brew over the Accelerated World. Every single legion started to shrink in size, even Nega Nebulous. These 'Eight Gentle Judges', as they were called, were ruthless when slaying Burst Linkers. Less and less Burst Linkers appeared in the Unlimited Field because they feared of losing all of their points. The matching list also became considerably smaller as well.

I did my best to eliminate these Gentle Judges, but since they weren't level 9, I couldn't stop them all permanently. Even X's Nova Strike attack, which was programmed to force the Brain Burst program to uninstall itself, did nothing to these guys. It was hard to tell if they were actual Burst Linkers or AI created by Dr. Weil.

The elevator finally reached the top floor and I stepped out, with flowers in my hands. It was a bouquet of flowers consisting of black roses and black lotuses. Of course, the black roses weren't naturally black, but since Kuroyukihime liked black, I had to get her black flowers.

I continued to walk until I found her room, which was in the southeast corner of the top floor. I opened the sliding door and was astonished to the sight that laid before my eyes.

"Welcome back Lan," she greeted warmly.

"Hey there Kuroyukihime," I said, slightly anxious.

She was in a sitting position and wore cute pink pajamas that reminded me of Ciel since Ciel said that she loved pink. Pink wasn't a color that suited Kuroyukihime very well. Kuroyukihime also had her hair in a strange but interesting way. Instead of the long and flowing hair I was so used to, it was braided tightly. Her brown eyes that seemed to have a tinge of scarlet in them, probably due to the sunlight, shone brightly, as if she was never involved in the accident.

"You look like your old self," I commented.

"Really? But this hair..."

"It's different. But it's not bad! I like it," I smiled. "Oh, I also brought you flowers."

"Ahh, I'm sorry, but you'll have to put it in the vase over there yourself."

"It's alright."

I walked over to where she was pointing to and filled the vase up with water from the nearby sink. After doing so, I set the flowers in the vase. Then I walked over to her right side and sat down on a stool.

"You're alone?" she asked.

"Yeah. I was being selfish today and wanted you all to myself..." I chuckled, scratching the side of my face.

"Oh Lan..."

"Sorry. Did you want to meet Silver Crow and his friends that badly?"

"A little bit. But seeing just you is enough to make me happy."

She held her right hand out and I took it gently with my left hand. Her hand was warm and soft, like how I always remembered it. They weren't cold and lifeless back then, when she got hit by that car.

"Tell me, how did the fight with White Cosmos go?" she asked.

"Straight to the point, I see," I chuckled. "Well, let's see here. Before I started fighting her, I leveled myself up to level 9. I got all the points from defeating Omega, so don't scold me for beating up too many Burst Linkers."

"I see. Go on."

"It was a rough battle, but I managed to defeat her. But then she revealed something completely unexpected. It was something called the Dark Elf. She used it and became stronger, as well as restoring her HP back to 100% while I was below 50%. She grew black wings that reeked of... evil, I guess. Then she drew a sword and we clashed blades for a bit."

"How did you beat her?"

"I awakened a new form, the Ultimate Form, and used it. It allowed me to use Charged Shot without charging up any energy and my special attacks didn't consume any of my special attack gauge. My giga attacks still consumed their normal amount, though."

"Giga attacks?" she asked, confused.

"Oh, right. Those are overpowered special attacks that can pretty much kill an enemy in one blow."

"Which giga attack did you use?"

"I actually used two during the fight. One was before I unlocked the Ultimate Form called Sogenmu. I was able to summon a shadow of myself that mimicked my every move. I finished her off by using Ittou Ryoudan: Genmurei, which was me executing a powerful slash that produced two giant sonic booms that couldn't be stopped."

"That sounds really awesome, actually. I wish I could've seen it," she remarked with a smile.

"Yeah. I defeated her and lost her Brain Burst. Now... I'm friends with your sister and your family."

"W-What?!" she exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah. Yuuki's pretty mature. After losing her Brain Burst, she forgot all about anything that had to do with the Accelerated World."

"I... I see."

"Your family is really nice, Kuroyukihime. I really like them."

"They kicked me out, you know?"

"Yeah, but that was because you stabbed your sister in the hand. I would've kicked you out of my house if you stabbed someone I loved."

"...Sorry," she said with an apologetic voice and face.

"Hey... Remember what I said?"

"About what?"

"The past."

"Right. What's done is done, right? We just have to keep moving forward and forgive others as well as forgive ourselves..."

"Yup. So forgive yourself for what you've done and go back home, okay?"

She smiled and tears began to form in her eyes. I actually didn't expect to see her cry because of how assertive she was most of the time. But then again, I got to see her soft side more often than other people. Megumi said something about that once when I was talking to her last week... I think she was slightly jealous of me?

"Speaking of school..." I murmured.

"Hmm?"

I pulled out Kuroyukihime's student handbook, which wasn't covered in blood anymore.

"I kept this safe for you while you were out," I said, handing it to her.

She became flustered and her face went cherry red for some reason. She snatched the book out of my hands and hugged it closely. Why was she so embarrassed? Was it because of the picture?

"D-Did you... look inside?" she asked shyly.

"Hmm? Yeah, I did. I liked that picture you made. A lot, actually. Is that why you're so embarrassed?" I replied.

"N-Not exactly."

"Why then?"

She stayed silent for a bit with her head down. What was she hiding in her student handbook?

"Kuroyukihime?"

"A-Are you ever going to call me by my real name now that you've seen it?" she said softly.

"R-Real name? I... I've seen it? Where?" Although I was a person with amazing reflexes, I was really slow in this moment.

"In here, silly..."

"I didn't look for your name. I wanted to hear it from you myself."

She laughed nervously and looked at me with a sad smile.

"Yes, that's right. We've been dating for a while now and you don't even know my real name. What kind of girlfriend am I?"

"A fantastic one since you risked your life for me."

In response to that, she blushed again and looked away, towards the window. The sky was changing from a clear blue to a hazy crimson.

"Very well then," she spoke in a calm and clear tone.

She turned her head back around and faced me with clear eyes. These were the eyes of the confident Kuroyukihime that I met months ago, shortly after I received Brain Burst.

"My name is Kirigaya Sachiko."

"Sachiko... huh," I whispered to myself.

Then I began to do something unexpected. I began to laugh uncontrollably. I was laughing even when tears were forming in my eyes and when my ribs began to hurt. Her name wasn't funny, no that wasn't it.

"Why are you laughing...?" she asked, offended.

I stopped my laughter and took a deep breath.

"It's a beautiful name. I laughed because... Because I was happy I finally got to know your real name after all this time. It's kind of funny, wouldn't you say?"

"You're kind of right..." she said, starting to laugh herself.

I was absolutely content with the present right now. Although the future was unclear and full of dangers that awaited me, I enjoyed these moments with Sachiko in the present. Her past was a little tainted with a small amount of bloodshed, but I was here to help her change her future. With the way she was headed before, she was bent on total destruction. Now, I guess I could say that she's much more controlled.

"Lan," she said after a few moments.

"Yeah?"

"Although the future is full of dangers waiting for us, let's enjoy our time together right now, okay?" It was as if she was reading my mind.

"Of course!" I said cheerfully.

That's right. Enjoying our time right now would be the best choice to make, since I was losing my Brain Burst after all of this was over, whether we won the fight or not.

I stood up and hugged Kuroyukihime firmly. She smelled really good, like of peaches and other fruits. She felt warm in this world that was heading into a state of coldness. Just like how the Red Hero felt warm in that Accelerated World, that world without heat other than fire.

"I'll fill everyone in on everything I know tomorrow, alright?" I asked while still in the embrace.

"Yeah. Even so..."

"I'll stay with you forever."

I felt her head nod slowly after I finished saying those words. I also felt tears soak through my school uniform, which was a surprise since she didn't cry that often.

"Sorry... I'm just really happy right now," she explained.

If it were up to me, things would stay like this forever. These small things like loving each other, going to school, and spending time with her family. If it were up to me, there would be no Dr. Weil. I would be able to see her graduate from both middle school and high school with a heart at ease, knowing that there wasn't going to be anyone that would threaten her.

But it's not like that. I accepted my fate when I accepted the Brain Burst program through Sachiko. Thanks to her, I met lots of people through the Accelerated World and some of them became my friends. It wasn't all that bad.

But what happens when I lose my Brain Burst? If I lose all my memories that are related to the Accelerated World, does that mean that I'll forget Sachiko? No, I definitely won't.

"Don't worry about losing your Brain Burst. You won't forget me, right?" she asked, as if reading my mind again.

"I won't forget you," I promised.

That's right. She's been carved into my soul now, not just stuck into my head. I couldn't forget her no matter how hard I tried.


	30. Chapter 30 - Introduction

_The Next Day _

After school, I went back to Sachiko's room in the hospital and waited for the other members of Nega Nebulous to arrive. Although Sachiko was eager to hear what I've gathered so far with Ciel and the others, I didn't want to explain it twice, so we waited patiently. I hoped that it didn't take _that _long.

After fifteen minutes or so, the door opened and three people stepped in. The first was a shorter than me and was quite... erm, fat. He wore a school uniform that was differently colored than mine, but was quite similar. It was grey with a yellow tie. He had dark brown hair and black eyes with a worried look on his face.

The second person was male and slightly taller than me. His hair was a light brown and he had clear blue eyes. He looked like a confident figure, compared to the shorter fellow. He also wore the same uniform as the smaller male.

The last person was a female and shorter than me, but taller than the fatter (how could I be less rude of his weight?) one. She wore the same uniform as them, except with a black skirt and yellow ribbon, similar to Umesato Junior High. She also had brown hair but had pink eyes. In her hair was a pin the shape of a cute cat's face. She also carried a yellow duffle bag.

Following behind them was a person I didn't expect to see: Fuuko. I smiled at the sight of her coming in along with these people.

"Hello everyone. My name is Lan, or the person you all know as Red Hero," I said, introducing myself.

"I'm Kuroyukihime, the Black King," Sachiko spoke.

"I'm... I'm Arita Haruyuki, Silver Crow!" piped the small boy.

"Mayuzumi Takumu, or Cyan Pile, at your service!" said the taller male.

"I'm Kurashima Chiyuri!" said the last person.

Takumu lightly elbowed her and she realized she was missing something.

"I'm also Lime Bell!" she said quickly.

"Did you already introduce yourself to them, Fuuko?" I asked her.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Alright, now that we all know who we are, let's get down to business."

"Straight to the point, I see..." Takumu murmured.

"There isn't time to waste," I said curtly.

"No arguing please," Sachiko said.

The others nodded and remained quiet as I explained the situation to them.

"Ciel and the others are working hard to figure out where Weil is, but it's hard to find the person behind all of this because he hides so well. He created these Eight Gentle Judges to clean the Accelerated World of Burst Linkers so he can accomplish his goal. It's very likely that these 'Burst Linkers' aren't at all human, but are just programs like Omega was."

"Is that even possible?" Takumu asked.

"Very possible, since Omega wasn't human."

A tense silence filled the room after I finished speaking. If I had to guess, they were all debating on whether or not they should continue to fight with us or leave.

"The fight ahead is going to be a dangerous and probably long one. If you want to leave and accept the reign of Dr. Weil, then you are free to do so. But if you want to resist, then fight on with your fellow Legion members," I said, breaking the silence.

"Th-Those are the only two options?" Haruyuki asked.

"Yes. If you submit to Weil, I don't want you here fighting with us halfheartedly."

"Who else will we be fighting with?" Takumu asked.

"The Four Guardians of Neo Arcadia: Fighting Fefnir, Sage Harpuia, Fairy Leviathan, and Hidden Phantom. We'll also have their master, X, on our side. Lastly, Ciel is coming to fight too."

"And what about the Kings?"

"I believe Black Lotus is the only King on our side. I sent a message throughout the entire Accelerated World two days ago asking for help. I said the exact same thing that I said before to everyone else."

Everyone in the room hesitated for a few moments. To fight or not to fight, that was the question. They were Burst Linkers, though. They were born to fight. No, rather, they were given the choice to fight and they accepted it. To back down now would destroy their pride as a Burst Linker.

_What do you think, Zero? _I asked.

...

No answer was given to me.

_Zero? _

Was he asleep? No, if he were asleep, just me calling out to him would wake him up. What happened to Zero?

"Lan? What's wrong?" asked Fuuko.

"He's... not answering me," I said quietly.

"He?" Sachiko spoke up.

"Zero, or the original Red Hero. The one who was asleep in your Neuro Linker and then transferred over to mine with Brain Burst. I talked to him frequently throughout the last couple of weeks, but now... He's not answering me."

Before anyone could say anything else, the Earth began to shake violently. The vase that held new flowers fell to the ground and shattered to pieces. What the hell was going on now? Was an earthquake going on right now?

"E-E-Earthquake?" Haruyuki stammered.

The Earth continued to shake violently as I stumbled towards the window. I opened the shades and the sight that laid before me caught my breath. A giant purple beam was slammed into the ground from the sky. Was something from outer space... shooting a laser beam at the Earth?!

The beam began to shift to my direction slowly. I realized what was going to happen and ran towards Sachiko. I unstrapped her from the machines and carried her in my arms.

"We're leaving!" I yelled over the shaking earth.

"W-Why?!" Takumu yelled.

"Just go!" I roared, running out the door.

"Lan?" Sachiko asked me as I ran to the elevator.

"I'm not losing you again!" I cried.

I got into the elevator and noticed that everyone was following me. Good, there wasn't time to be wasted. Right as everyone got into the elevator, I pushed the button to descend. Argh! If only it could descend faster.

I opened up the Neuro Linker address list and called Ciel. She picked up almost instantly.

"Ciel, what's going on?!" I cried.

"Weil's in space; no wonder we couldn't find him! He's controlling that beam and aiming it to that hospital you're in! Get out of there!"

"I'm getting out as fast as I can!"

"Watch out for-"

The connection was cut off before she could finish her sentence. I stared at the screen saying "Connection Lost" blankly. What happened to her?

The elevator door opened and we rushed out quickly. I led the way outside and noticed the purple laser beam nearing the building. I ran in the opposite direction of the laser and told everyone to follow me quickly. Before I knew it, the laser annihilated the hospital building and continued with its rampage. I felt like I was in an action movie after seeing the laser beam completely destroy the hospital building.

"What do we do?" Fuuko asked, worried.

"Wh-What... what's going on?" Chiyuri spoke. It was the first time she had spoken after introducing herself. Tears were starting to flow out of her eyes.

"No time for crying, let's go!" I cried as I tried to go a different way.

As I turned the corner, I saw something that scared the living daylights out of me. In front of me was a giant blue and purple figure with three heads. His hands had three claws on them, grabbing cars and throwing them at... at people.

"That's... That's Tretista Kelverian!" I whispered to myself. "But how?"

He was one of the Eight Gentle Judges that Weil created. How was it possible for him to appear here in the _real _world? Was this what Weil meant by using the Accelerated World to control the real world? If that's the case, then...

He noticed us and threw a car at us before we could react. However, I was already accelerating.

"Burst Link!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

I slashed the car in half with my Hero Sword in one hand and Sachiko in the other. Everyone looked at me in amazement once they realized what had happened.

"Lan...?" Sachiko said.

"Everyone, you have to accelerate if you want to fight!" I said in a commanding tone.

Everyone nodded, including Sachiko, and said the command.

"Burst Link!"

Everyone transformed into their duel avatars from the Accelerated World as another car was thrown at us. Black Lotus appeared in front of us and slashed the car to pieces.

Tretista Kelverian glared at us and roared, clearly distraught from not being able to crush us with cars. I switched to my Active Form and dashed towards him. I jumped and smashed his middle head into the ground with my Hero Sword. Then, I used Rakuretsuzan to cut his head in half. He roared in pain, but I wasn't done. I jumped back as Black Lotus came in and slashed him multiple times with her two blades.

Despite all of this, Tretista retaliated by smashing his right claws into Black Lotus. He was the strongest of the Eight Gentle Judges, after all. He stood up and charged at us with his claws out. A sword appeared in his hands as a purple light.

_Incarnation?!_

"Guard Shell!" I cried at the last moment.

The familiar oval-shaped shield appeared in front of me and stopped Tretista's sword from ramming into the Burst Linkers behind me. Tretista was caught off guard by the strong shield and I took that opportunity to stab his abdomen with my sword. I roared at the top of my lungs and slashed up with all of the strength I could muster.

I ended up cutting him in half, which amazed everyone, even myself. A small sonic-boom appeared after executing the slash, which then hit a building. As the building was cut, rubble fell and Silver Crow flew in that direction to save the people who were underneath the falling rubble.

"Good job, Silver Crow," I said to myself. "C'mon everyone, let's-"

I was cut off after glancing at the others. Sky Raker wasn't on the wheelchair she always rode on. I sighed and walked over to her and picked her up.

"Hero-san... You don't have to do this," she said quietly.

"Of course I do. I can't leave you behind!"

"Where exactly are we going?" Lime Bell asked.

I looked at her and then glanced at the others. My eyes shifted towards the source of the purple laser beam and pointed at it.

"To space."

"Sp-Space..." Sky Raker mumbled.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Fuuko? You don't usually hesitate like this," I asked.

"I had nearly forgotten. My original desire when I first received Brain Burst."

"It was to go to space, wasn't it?" Silver Crow said as he landed.

"H-How did you figure it out?"

"I always found it odd how you had a jet-pack if you wanted to fly in the sky. Then I thought to myself, 'Isn't it more suited for space-combat?' I couldn't help but think that when I fought Dusk Taker with your wings."

"So how will we get up there? Haru can't carry us all," Cyan Pile said.

"Oh, I know plenty of people who can fly," I chuckled.

"Where do you think they are?" Silver Crow asked.

"They'll appear eventually."

"Put me down, Hero-san," Fuuko suddenly said.

I glanced down at her and looked at her with a confused expression.

"You can't walk, though," I said.

And as if on cue, her legs began to materialize back. Slowly but surely, her strong legs reformed. I gazed at them in amazement; this was the first time I ever saw her with legs!

I gently set her down and she slowly stood up, trying to get used to her legs again.

"They're back," Black Lotus breathed.

"Thank you for cutting them off for me," Sky Raker whispered. "But now I need them again."

I nodded at the group and told them to follow me. It was easier if we kept together as a group rather than separating. Who knew what would happen if we were to get seriously injured in our states. What would happen? Would we die as well, or would our duel avatars just disappear? I didn't want to find out the answer to those questions, so I kept everyone together.

Shortly after running a few blocks, I noticed that the purple laser beam in the sky had disappeared. Was Weil done with whatever he was doing? As I thought that, I bumped into someone white and gold.

"Watch where you're going, Zero," said a familiar voice.

"X!" I exclaimed with happiness. It was good that we had bumped into each other.

"The whole gang's here, huh," Black Lotus commented.

Behind X were the Four Guardians and Ciel, who was in a similar duel avatar to mine. Her helmet shape looked the same, except the front part was like half a helmet because of her three angular bangs of hair. I could faintly see a blue gem in the middle of her helmet also. Her outfit was identical to mine, except it was suited for a female. A sleeveless vest-like armor with a blue gem in the middle, gold rings around her wrists and feet, as well as above her elbow and on her thighs. The bottom portion of her torso was that of a skirt that was parted like a flower, alternating between the colors of white and red. **(A/N: Ciel's 'duel avatar' is based on her [Project] Rockman Ciel appearance as 'Model B', I guess.)**

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Ciel said as she caught up to us. She held out a beam saber that looked almost looked like mine. Although it was triangular shaped, the bottom portion was slightly different.

"Now, how do we get to space from here?" Cyan Pile asked again.

"We fly," Ciel answered.

"But it looks like Haru and Sky Raker is the only ones who can fly..."

"Oh? Is that so?" Ciel asked with a sly smile.

We all exchanged glances, even the Four Guardians and X, who also had no idea what she meant.

"Equip Enhanced Armament! Grand Nuage!" Ciel yelled at the top of her lungs.

A pillar of pink light erupted from behind Ciel. After a few moments, a giant shadow loomed over us. We looked up and saw a giant airship in the sky that was mostly... pink.

"Get in! We're wasting time!" she commanded.

A small beam of light was shot down from the Grand Nuage. We all walked into it and was teleported into the ship's control room. There were three seats with a lot of buttons to press in front of them and one main seat. That was probably the pilot's seat. Ciel ran and plopped herself into that seat and piloted the airship with ease, as if she's done this before.

"Hold on tight!" she yelled cheerfully.

"What exactly can we _hold on to?!_" I yelled.

There was literally nothing else in the room but a locked door behind us. We all screamed as the airship pointed itself upward and then blasted off. The inertia sent us flying backwards into the door. How the door was able to sustain the combined weight of ten people, as well as the combined force of inertia, was beyond me.

After a few minutes, the ship changed into a 30 degree angle and we were able to stand more properly. Through the main window in front of us, we could see the depths of space... But how?

"How is it that we are able to transform into our duel avatars in the real world?" I asked aloud.

"Weil has created a field around the Earth that enables one to 'accelerate' in the real world!" Ciel answered loudly.

"But we aren't even accelerating! Time is moving at the same speed!" I argued.

"It's kind of like acceleration, but it's not at the same time! Weil created a distortion in the Accelerated World that would cause an overlap with reality itself through Omega and probably the Eight Gentle Judges!" she explained further.

"How big is this field?" I asked.

"The Accelerated World is pretty big, right? Pretty much the size of Japan?"

"I guess. Are there Burst Linkers in other parts of the world?"

"With the help of Weil, there could be. So the field is probably the size of the Earth!"

"We're in space, though!" Cyan Pile spoke.

"Not really! We're actually in the mesosphere! Weil's space station, Ragnarok, is right over there!" she said while pointing at a distant circular object.

"W-Where exactly a-are we h-h-headed?" Silver Crow stammered.

"The control room inside of Ragnarok!" Ciel shouted.

"Stop shouting! The ship isn't even making much noise anymore!" Black Lotus cried.

"Oh, sorry," Ciel said apologetically.

I slowly walked to where Ciel was and stared out the window. I could see Ragnorok's shape get bigger and bigger. It looked like a spinning top, except at the tip, there was a large cannon. Well, it was actually eight cannons merging laser beams into one giant one. On the top of the circular top was a green sphere, and it looked like we were headed into that sphere.

"So that's where the final battle is, huh..." I murmured to myself.

I couldn't help but feel an icy chill go down my spine.


	31. Chapter 31 - Space Station

What will happen when one of us gets hurt to the point where we're almost dead? Will we be able to return to normal and then die a painful death as a human? Or will we just die and vanish like we would in the Accelerated World?

Those questions lingered in my mind as we drew closer and closer to the green sphere at the top of Ragnarok. I feared for everyone else's sake, especially Sachiko's. I knew she wouldn't recklessly throw her life away, but the thought of her dying _again _clawed at my heart.

For the first time, I looked up to see if there was a HUD available. There wasn't an HP bar or special attack meter either. Did this mean that if we died here, we died for real? I opened a few windows and realized that this wasn't the Brain Burst menu, but my Neuro Linker's menu. I was connected to the Grand Nuage's network and soon, I would be connected to Ragnarok's.

"It'll be over soon," said Sachiko's voice. I felt one of her blades gently touch my right shoulder.

I took a look at her and had an anxious expression on my face.

"If I asked you to stay here, would you?" I asked. I already knew the answer.

"Of course I wouldn't! Are you insane?" she asked, angry I would suggest such a thing.

"I know you would. I just wanted to confirm it," I said softly.

"Are you... are you afraid of dying?"

"I'm... I'm afraid of you dying," I choked out.

"I'll be fine. I promise."

I wish I could hug her or something, but I couldn't since her entire body consisted of blades. Instead, I just gripped her left sword with my right hand tightly. I bit my lip and stared at Ragnarok as it got closer.

"You're warm as usual," Sachiko commented.

"Eh?"

Then I noticed that her blade was a piece of cold metal compared to the warm Sachiko I was holding not even an hour ago. When this was all over, will I be able to feel her warmth again?

As we approached the space station, I noticed that panels were opening up on the sides of the structure. Guns of some sort peeked out slowly as I kept watching.

"Ciel, watch out for guns!" I exclaimed.

"Don't worry, this ship is pretty agile!" Ciel said excitedly.

_Are you really excited for this?! We're about to be SHOT DOWN._

Before I could do anything, Ciel began to maneuver the ship left and right, dodging laser beams. It almost seemed as if this were an old film where the hero was driving a space ship towards a giant "Death Star" and was being assaulted by laser beams. Yup. This is exactly what it looked like.

Thanks to Ciel's piloting skills, a majority of the passengers grew space sick (I guess?) and looked sick. It's a good thing I didn't eat much before meeting up with Silver Crow and his friends...

After a few minutes of swerving left and right, we made it to the top of the space station.

"We've reached our destination. Let's go before any more of those laser turrets show up!" Ciel commanded.

She broke the window open and the vacuum of space sucked us out. At the same time, most of us were screaming our heads off, even the calm and commanding Harpuia.

"Ciel, are you retarded?! We can't _float _to that thing!" Cyan Pile cried.

"Swim like your life depended on it!"

"Also, how can we breathe? Isn't this space?!" I cried.

Everyone stopped moving for a moment to consider what I just said. Then at that moment, the duel avatars with human-like faces began to choke, including myself and Ciel.

"CIEL YOU IDIOT!" I managed to gasp.

"Harpuia, Silver Crow, fly us to the green sphere!" Ciel coughed out.

The two of them understood and flew to the front of the group. We all held onto each other's legs, except for Black Lotus who held onto my body (which in turn nearly cut me in half!), as they dragged us onto the green sphere at the top of Ragnarok. Breathing was very difficult since this was the height of the Earth's livable atmosphere.

As we neared the green sphere, Silver Crow put his fist out and it glowed blue.

"Laser Sword!" he said.

A blue streak of light that was similar to Black Lotus's Vorpal Strike appeared and broke some of the sphere, allowing us to get ourselves in. Leviathan used ice to patch it up so none of the oxygen in Ragnarok would leak out. After that, most of us began to breathe deeply and cough violently.

"Next time... crash the damn ship into the large space object, okay?" I managed to say after coughing multiple times.

"I'm throwing you headfirst next time!" she yelled. "But I'll take a mental note of that."

"Wouldn't a next time be a bad thing?" Silver Crow mentioned.

There was a silence among the group for a few moments as that sunk in. Immediately afterwards, we all bursted out laughing.

"I can't believe we're having fun when the fate of the world rests on our shoulders," Harpuia said, shaking his head.

"You're right. Let's go," X commanded.

Once we looked around, we noticed that we were actually in the control room. There was actually nobody to fight here, so Ciel walked up to the computers to do her thing and stop Ragnarok from firing its laser beam into the Earth. But only after a few seconds of stopping it, seven enemies appeared in front of us. The Eight Gentle Judges, or at least, what remained of them.

The remaining Gentle Judges from left to right were Blazin' Flizard (of fire element), Childre Inarabitta (of ice element), Hellbat Schilt (of electric element), Deathtanz Mantisk (of no element), Cubit Foxtar (of fire element), Glacier le Cactank (of ice element), and Volteel Biblio (of electric element).

"You all know how to deal with them?" X asked the Four Guardians.

"Yes, Master!" they all said at the same time.

"Their color does not define how they operate in battle, remember that!" I said to the new Nega Nebulous members. They nodded in response.

"Ciel, how long do you think it's gonna take?" I asked.

"No estimated time. Just fight as long as you can!" she said quickly.

I pulled out my Hero Sword and threw myself at my first opponent that could become the deadliest, Deathtanz Mantisk. He was a thin green duel avatar with two curved blades as hands, similar to Black Lotus. As his name implied, he was shaped like a mantis. I was going to take him out first because he looked agile and his blades could be a problem later on.

"Ohhhh, sssssooo you want to be the first onnnnnee to diiiieee!" he said with slurred words.

"Too slow," I said as I slashed one of his arms off.

"Ahh! It hurts so much!" he yowled in pain. Due to this, the other Judges began to hesitate to fight.

I stabbed Deathtanz's abdomen and he screeched in pain again. I ignored it and pulled out my beam saber to slash his other arm off, increasing the intensity of his scream. I finished him off by ruthlessly cutting him to pieces by swinging with as much strength as possible. His screams, followed by some of the other Judges' screams, echoed in the room.

After defeating Deathtanz, I moved on to help out Cyan Pile with Cubit Foxtar, who was jumping all over the place and throwing purple flames at him. I blocked some flames with my Shield Boomerang and threw it at her, cutting off one of her legs. Cyan Pile moved in and pierced her side with his pile driver.

She muttered a command and then a purple flame engulfed her. The pile driver drew itself back so it didn't melt in the fire. Then the flame flew up into the air and split into five different flames. They danced around Cyan Pile and me as we dodged them as best as we could. Cyan Pile was scorched by some flames since his mobility wasn't as good as mine.

"Agh!" he yelled in pain.

I grabbed him by the foot and yanked him away by an incoming flame.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah... The fire burned as if it was burning my own skin, though," he gasped.

It was _that _painful, huh. I turned to face Cubit Foxtar floating back to the ground.

"Did your flesh like the lick of the flames?" she asked menacingly.

"Lightning Cyan Spike!" Cyan Pile answered, thrusting his pile driver into Cubit Foxtar's thin body.

"Guaah!" she screamed in agony.

I jumped and ran as fast as I could to where she stood and sliced her head off in one fatal stroke. The screams stopped from her and she fell limp. The pile driver removed itself from her body and it fell to the ground with a soft thump.

I looked around the room to see that we were winning by a good amount. It didn't take much to take out these Judges, since they looked more horrifying than they actually were. After a few more minutes, all that was left were the dead bodies of each Judge, except for Tretista.

"That wasn't too hard," Phantom commented.

"Is that it?!" Fefnir roared, ready for more.

And as if to answer his question, eight more duel avatars teleported in. No, nine, actually. Eight large and fearsome warriors stood behind one soldier-like duel avatar. He wore a light blue coat that wrapped itself around his entire body. He had a mechanical headband as well as a mechanical right eye. His left eye was blue. He also had black hair that spiked backwards.

"I am Kraft, and I am the commander of the Einharjar Eight Warriors," he said in a gravelly male tone.

"I don't care who the hell you are, I'm gonna blow you all to smithereens!" Fefnir roared.

"Fefnir, you impatient idiot..." Leviathan muttered.

"He's sorta right, you know," Silver Crow argued.

"Shut it, all of you," I said while walking to the front of the group. "We're the guys who're gonna kick your asses."

"That kid's got spunk," said a blue wolf-like duel avatar.

"Can I be the first to kill him?" asked a giant turtle-like duel avatar.

"No... I want... to kill..." began an even bigger rhino-like duel avatar.

"You're too slow to even talk to him!" cried a chicken-like duel avatar.

"Are you all done talking to each other?" Cyan Pile asked. "I thought we were gonna fight or something."

"Yeah, I'm starting to like this guy!" Fefnir said, slapping him on the back.

I sighed and dashed forward, starting the battle. I aimed for Kraft, the commander, and attempted to hit him with Reppuugeki. He jumped out of the way and threw off his cape, revealing a giant gun the size of his body! I gulped as he shot a missile at me. I dodged it while it barely missed Leviathan, who was running by with the others trying to get their hands on an Einharjar Warrior.

"Not bad. As expected of the Red Hero," Kraft commented.

I remained silent and attempted to land another slash. He dodged it with an extremely fast back-roll. Despite this soldier's build, he was very agile. His gun turned into a giant knife and he ran towards me. I sidestepped stuck my leg out, tripping him. He cursed under his breath as I slashed him up into the air. I jumped and before I could execute my combo, he shot me in the air with his gun.

A sharp pain was felt in my shoulder as I fell down. It was a more painful wound compared to the kinds I get in the Unlimited Field. It felt like... an actual bullet hit my left shoulder! Although I was able to move it, it hurt immensely. I ignored it by only focusing on the battle.

"The pain is surprising, no?" he asked politely.

"Yeah. But that isn't gonna stop me!" I roared.

I dashed forward and shadow-dashed through Kraft, surprising him. I used my flaming Shoeunga attack and threw him back up into the air. I jumped up in time and smashed him down to the ground. After doing so, I used Rakuretsuzan and stabbed him in the face. I was being absolutely ruthless when I was fighting all of these... 'people'. I didn't give them a chance to get back up like I would in the Accelerated World.

Although Kraft didn't scream in pain after I stabbed him in the face, he looked like he was in a world of pain. I pulled my sword out and then before I could do anything, he stabbed me in the abdomen with his giant gun-knife thing.

"Guh!" I gasped, spitting out some blood.

I haven't experienced this kind of pain before. It was as if someone had actually stabbed me in the body with a giant blade. That's right, this is the real world, not the Accelerated World. Pain is real here...

I switched to my Hero Gun and shot a Charged Shot at Kraft, surprising him again. It looks like Weil didn't give him much information on my attacks. I froze his feet in place with Ice Javelin and pulled his gun out of my chest with difficulty. After doing so, I threw it to the side and gasped for air.

"Pathetic humans..." Kraft muttered.

"You were created by a human, so don't call us pathetic!" I yelled while running at him with my Hero Sword drawn.

I dodged his attempt at punching me and used Ranbu, the seven hit combo that I learned from Omega. All seven hits landed successfully and Kraft was thrown into the air by the last slash, which was a rising slash. He flew into the horse-like Einherjar Warrior and the fell. Leviathan appeared above them and stabbed her spear down, similar to my Rakuretsuzan special attack. She pierced both of them, causing both of their lives to end.

"Good job!" I called out to her.

She nodded but was then smashed by a giant turtle shell spinning with fire around the edges. I dashed over to where she was headed and caught her in my arms. She squeaked a girly sound when she landed. When she realized that I had caught her, her face turned into a deep red.

"E-Enough of th-that. Put me down," she said quickly.

I did so and examined how well we were doing. The Einherjars were a little bit more difficult compared to the Gentle Judges, but we were doing a fine job. There wasn't a single person on our side that seemed injured. Until Lime Bell was caught off guard by the flaming moth-like Einherjar. It sent two large red razor fans flying towards her, which looked incredibly deadly. Cyan Pile noticed this and pushed her away, causing him to get hit by the fans instead.

"Agh!" he screamed in agony. Thankfully, none of his limbs were cut off.

"Taku! Why... Why did you save me?!" Lime Bell asked, horrified.

Before he could answer, the Einherjar threw a large fireball at them. I dashed forward and pulled out my Recoil Rod. I began to charge and hope that I made it before they could get hit by the fireball.

I made it just in time and hit the fireball back at the Einherjar with the Recoil Rod's useful ability. It was caught completely off guard and was hit by its own fireball. After impacting, the fireball split into six small moth-like creatures that burned out shortly afterwards. I took this chance to get high into the air to knock it down and finish it off with Rakuretsuzan.

I glanced at Cyan Pile to see if he was okay. He was cut badly, but he was able to move still, so that was a good sign. After I finished off this Einherjar, the others followed suit and defeated the rest quickly once their numbers diminished.

"All done! Ragnarok is now a completely useless station and will now hurl itself towards the Sun," Ciel stated.

"Alright! Nicely done, everyone!" I congratulated.

Black Lotus dashed over to me and put her left blade on my shoulder again.

"See? That wasn't too bad," she chuckled.

"I guess so," I shrugged.

"Chrion Call!" Lime Bell yelled.

A green light enveloped the entire team, which returned us to our normal states before we began fighting. I didn't know that Lime Bell was a healer! Before I could say that, Cyan Pile explained to me that her power was to reverse time, not healing. I nodded in response, understanding.

"Alright, so I'll call the ship back up and-"

Ciel's voice was interrupted by a shot fired from Ragnarok. The entire space station rumbled as the shot left the station and into Earth.

"What the hell?! Ciel, didn't you say that the station was completely useless now?" I asked.

"I don't know what's going on! We're the only ones in the station!" Ciel said, confused.

Then a new voice was heard from every direction.

"Ha ha ha! You fools. Did you really think that I would let you disable Ragnarok that easily?" said an evil voice that sounded... old?

"Weil?" I called out.

"Still playing the Hero, I see. You can't stop Ragnarok no matter how hard you try! Buwahahahaha!"

"Grr..." I grumbled.

Ciel was attempting to stop Ragnarok again from using the controls in the control room, but nothing was happening. The space station continued to fire laser beams at Earth, causing it to rumble violently every time.

"Ciel, is there a map of the station somewhere?" I asked.

"Yes, but how will that help?" she asked.

"If you were an evil madman trying to rule the world with a space station, where would you hide? Inside of it, of course. But where?"

She pulled up a map and we all gathered around to inspect it closely. We were currently in the control room, which was located at the top of the station. The other parts of the station didn't seem to make sense, since this seemed like the only place that looked habitable.

"What about the core?" Silver Crow pointed out.

"Of course! The only other way to gain control of the station is to go to its primary control systems, the core!" Ciel exclaimed.

"Well then, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" Fefnir said loudly.

We all nodded and ran through a door that led to the inner workings of Ragnarok, which was full of hazards like holes and sharp spikes. We made our way through the complex indoors as best and fast as possible, trying to reach Weil before he could kill any more humans.

"Attention, citizens of the world! This is your new ruler, Weil, speaking. If you all wish to live..." Weil began his speech.

"Tch, this guy!" I said, irritated.

Before we reached the core of Ragnarok, three more shots were fired, showing the humans that lived on Earth how serious Weil was on becoming the king of the world.

"If you don't all submit, I will crash this station into the Earth and destroy it!" he roared.

"This little station can do that?" Black Lotus asked.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem like it, but it can fire a pretty mean laser shot," Ciel said.

Nearing the core room, we noticed that there were large glass windows showing us the outside of space and Earth. As we ran through the hallways, we noticed that there were marks on the Earth caused by Ragnarok itself. I couldn't believe what I was seeing! How many people were dead? Was Japan the country that was the most targeted?

The answers to those questions couldn't be answered in time. The final doorway was in front of us, sealed tightly. X used Nova Strike to destroy it without harming the station. In the room was the core of Ragnarok, shaped like a giant sword with yellow lines run across a white colored mechanism around a purple-ish inner core.

"This is it. This is the final battle," I said quietly.

Everyone nodded and stepped inside, unaware of what was yet to come.


	32. Chapter 32 - Final Destination

This was it. This was the the last fight I was going to have with Sachiko and the others. After this was all over, I would no longer be able to accelerate and spend time with these people in the Accelerated World. Was it worth it? It felt like it was, since I was saving billions of lives from the evil clutches of Weil.

Ciel walked up to the core to examine it, but a force field stopped her before she could touch it. It was similar to the one that blocked Zero from me in my state of Zero Fill.

"I'm sorry, but you can't touch that," said a voice that belonged to Weil.

The team responded by glancing around the room, trying to figure out where he was hiding. He began to laugh maniacally as we searched with our eyes. Then he appeared in front of us, floating by Ragnarok's core.

Dr. Weil didn't appear as a normal human by first glance. Instead, he looked like something much more, like some sort of machine. He had no legs but instead hovered over the ground. His lower body was replaced by an array of black and red arrow-like bands to form a coat of sorts. His head was engulfed in an orange glass shield filled with some sort of bio-liquid, causing his hair to freely flow upwards. At a closer look at his face, he looked like an aged man with rough skin, a pointed nose, long gray hair and beard and red eyes.

"Weil?!" I exclaimed.

"Oh? What do we have here? The supposed heroes who are going to stop me?" he sneered.

"That's right. Your evil plan ends here and now. There's too many of us for you!" Black Lotus said.

"Is that so? We'll see about that," he laughed.

Before we could move, the Ragnarok core split into five pieces as Weil floated higher into the air. He flashed white a few times along with the pieces of the core and they merged together. Weil's size was now slightly smaller than Omega's first two forms, but still big nonetheless. Like after fusing with the Dark Elf, his fingers became claw-like and his 'coat' became more demonic.

"Wh...What are you?!" I cried.

"Though my body appears thus... I am human!" he said.

"That's not possible! No human has ever developed a body like... like that!"

"I'm the one who created my own body! It's an undying body, so I can rule the world for as long as I want to!"

"That's beyond insanity..." I muttered.

"Insane, you say? If I'm insane, then why did you come up here to space to stop me? A sane person would have just stayed down on Earth and followed me!"

"It'd be insane to _not _fight you!" I argued.

"If you could do that in the real world, why did you need the Accelerated World?" Ciel asked.

"So I could develop my own minions to eliminate anyone in my way! It was so convenient for Brain Burst to exist at a time like this!" he answered.

"How did you manage to make them appear in the real world?"

"That was simple. All I did was create something real and send it to the Accelerated World. The result was a distortion that led to the overlapping of reality!"

"Something real?" I gasped.

"You guessed it! The original Red Hero was the cause of the problem. Not Omega, not White Cosmos, nor any of the other things I've created. As the existing Red Hero grew stronger and stronger, my goal was getting closer to being completed!"

"How did I overlook that?" Ciel whispered, horrified.

"I caused all of this?" I murmured, falling to my knees.

Because of me, the Red Hero inside of me grew stronger. I was using his power to fight and after every victory, he grew more powerful. The only way to solve this was to uninstall my Brain Burst so the disruption would disappear.

No, if I uninstall my Brain Burst now, Weil still had the power to destroy/rule the world. Not only that, but the overlapping realities would disappear, resulting all of us here to revert back to our original selves.

"The original Red Hero wasn't human?" X asked. "How did you send him into the Accelerated World?"

"I'm an evil genius, you see. I created a robotic human and used a teleportation device to send him into that world!" Weil answered.

"Robotic human?" I mumbled. Was that even possible?

"It's useless to explain it to you fools. Now is the time for you all to perish!" he cackled.

As he laughed evilly, Black Lotus used Vorpal Strike to hit him while he was on his high horse. However, Dr. Weil had an unexpectedly good reaction time and teleported away from the hit. He summoned eight blue energy balls and threw them all at us. All of us dodged them all unscathed as he teleported to another side and used the same move. After dodging these, he summoned small grey meteorites and threw them at us.

"Guard Shell!" I commanded.

The shield appeared and blocked most of the meteorites, breaking the ones that impacted with the shield. Weil summoned more, except that they were gold this time, and sent them flying at us again. They flew faster this time, but still broke into pieces when my Guard Shell came into contact.

Silver Crow flew into the air and homed onto Weil with an aerial kick. Weil saw this coming and teleported away again, sending more blue energy balls at Silver Crow.

"Lightning Cyan Spike!" Cyan Pile shouted, shooting his pile driver into the energy balls. This caused them to disappear in mid-air, saving Silver Crow.

"Codon Sphere!" Weil boomed.

He summoned a giant multi-colored ball into the air and we stared at it, bracing for impact. However, its function was to not fall, but rather, it was to summon foes that we had just previously fought. Before we knew it, the Eight Gentle Judges and the Einherjar Eight Warriors came back to life and stood tall.

"We gotta fight those guys again?!" Fefnir cried.

"Not a problem," Phantom said calmly.

"Nova Strike!" X yelled, heading for Deathtanz Mantisk.

I ran past the opponents we already fought and aimed for Weil so he couldn't escape and shoot more shots at Earth with Ragnarok. I swung my Hero Sword wildly in the air, trying to land a lucky hit. However, Weil kept teleporting away so I couldn't hit him.

"Fight me, you coward!" I yelled.

"As you wish, _Hero_," he said, saying 'Hero' with disgust.

He floated above me and waved his coat in a strange fashion. Immediately afterwards, six swords fell down and stabbed the ground. He flew higher up and shot purple lightning down. It hit one of the swords and caused it to glow. Then it sent an electrifying pulse at me, hitting me directly. Although it felt like my entire body was on fire, I kept the scream in. I had to, or else I wouldn't be able to dodge the other attacks!

Since these swords acted as lightning rods, destroying them would be the best option. I used Double Shot Wave to eliminate the swords that were in front of me, then I did the same thing to the swords behind me. Weil seemed surprised as to how fast I responded to his combo. I looked up at him and sheathed my Hero Sword.

"What? Did you already give up? Or is it that you can never hit me?" he laughed.

"Rekkoha!" I yelled, punching the ground with all of my might.

Pillars of light came crashing down on Weil and caused him to fall to the ground. I took this opportunity to jump on him and bash his orange glass casing with my fist, cracking it in the process.

"Get off of me, you vermin!" he roared.

"Make me!" I yelled, still punching him in the face.

He split into four shadowy figures to get away from me, similar to my Shadow Dash technique. He reappeared on the opposite side of the room. I had to get past all of the fighting again to get to him. I switched to Active Form and ran past everyone. The unlucky Einherjar Warrior that resembled a chicken got in my way and I used Reppuugeki, slicing him in half. I was a blazing orange figure on the battlefield, and even Weil himself noticed that as I charged at him.

I flew into his large body and used Ensuizan a few times, knocking him towards the ground. I then used Sentsuizan and smashed into him, destroying a part of the Ragnarok core that became his battle armor.

"Regenerator Field!" he commanded.

"Like hell I'd let you do that!" I yelled in response as he summoned 4 green blobs that moved towards him. I shot up into the air and dashed around like a bullet, slicing the blobs to pieces.

"Bah! You never give up, do you!" Weil screamed.

"I'm not gonna give up the entire world that easily!"

I executed Shoeunga and set his armor on fire, causing him to wildly move in the air trying to put it out. Although he was an evil genius, he wasn't able to put the fire out. I added more fuel to flames in the literal sense by shooting Weil with Burst Shot, causing a massive explosion and engulfing his entire body in fire.

"Gah!" he screamed in agony.

"Messenkou!" I said, pounding my fist into the ground again.

This time, pillars of light encircled me and hit Weil, who was directly above me. This destroyed more of the core around him, causing another large explosion. Soon, Weil began to explode like crazy. His final explosion was the largest, so large that I switched to Defense Form to survive it. I also dashed to the others and told them to get away to survive. I heard Weil say some things, but couldn't comprehend them. The explosion sent us into the wall and blinded us for a few moments.

When we came to, the station around us was in ruins. The wall that was there to protect us from space disappeared, revealing the outside of the space station along with giant red wires. Behind the wires was Earth, and we were heading towards it.

"If Ragnarok keeps falling at this speed, it'll crash into the Earth within ten minutes!" Ciel cried.

"We'll have to destroy it somehow!" I said.

Although we were in space, I found myself breathing like normal. What was going on?

"No... This isn't over yet!" strained an old voice. Dr. Weil rose from a hole that was in front of us. I was surprised that I didn't notice it at first.

"Weil!" I said angrily.

"Bwahahahaha! Didn't I tell you? I can't die! Nobody can stop Ragnarok now!"

"Lan, there's no time. We have to get out of here now!" Black Lotus cried. Ciel had already called her Grand Nuage to the station. It followed Ragnarok down to Earth but remained above the station so we could get in and leave.

Everyone began to board it but I remained still, staring at Weil. What was he up to? A station this small couldn't completely devastate the Earth, could it?

"Lan, hurry up!" Black Lotus called. She was pulling me towards the Grand Nuage, but I shrugged her off.

"No, there is a way. If I destroy Weil's core, the explosion will take Ragnarok out with it... If Ragnarok is blown apart, it no longer poses a threat!" I shouted.

"But what about you?" she asked, with mixed feelings.

"Hahaha! Are you even capable of it? Do you have it in you to kill another human being? To stain your hands with the blood of another one of your kind as a mere child? Bwahahaha!" Weil laughed.

Several mechanical tentacles appeared and attached themselves to Weil, who began to morph into something horrifying. As he began to change, he screamed in agonizing pain and I noticed that there was a large amount of blood coming out of this new body. After it was over, Weil had morphed into a hideous, monstrous form with a large spike at the top. There was a smaller spike at the bottom that protected a glowing orange sphere that contained his head.

"If killing you means saving the world, then yes. But I don't see you as a human being! You're a monster, Weil. Nothing more, nothing less," I proudly stated.

"Lan!" Sachiko said, before Silver Crow pulled her into the airship. "Lan!"

"Kuroyukihime... Believe in me!" I roared at the top of my lungs.

"Laaaaaan!"

"You have two minutes until it's too late! Defeat him by then!" Ciel shouted as the airship left.

I opened up my HUD and set a timer for 120 seconds. This was going to be either the longest 2 minutes of my life or the fastest. Either way, I hoped I lived to tell the tale.

"Sorry Weil, but I'll have to make this quick," I said as I switched to my Ultimate Form. "There are people waiting for me."

"DIE! DIE!" he screamed.

As he said that, green spider web-like things appeared in various directions. I did my best to dodge them, but I was caught in one at the very last moment. I rose up into the air and Weil's lower spike lowered itself. The orange sphere began to glow and energy gathered into one beam. I cut the web with my Hero Sword just in time and dodged the beam. As the spike rose back up, I put as much strength as I could into my arms and swung. I ended up cutting the spike off of Weil and causing him a massive amount of pain.

"HOW DARE YOU!" he roared.

A battle cry erupted from my lungs as I ran towards the orange sphere that contained his head. I landed as many Charged Shot attacks with my beam saber as much as possible, cracking it in the process. Before I could do any more damage, he sent three orbs of energy my way. I slashed them away but they split into three more balls of energy. Slicing them again, they split once more, which irritated me to no end. One final slash was enough to make them disappear completely, but Weil was already charging up another laser beam.

His body moved down and shot. I reacted by jumping and getting a hold of the tip of his large spike. I switched to my Hero Gun and shot the orange sphere with Burst Shot, followed by a few Charged Shots. It cracked some more after the beam disappeared. Weil moved back up and I hopped off the large spike in the process.

Ragnarok was getting closer and closer to the Earth as the fight went on. Although I was doing a crazy amount of damage, his orange sphere wouldn't break! I was beginning to lose faith once the timer hit 30 seconds left.

"YOU'LL NEVER WIN! SUBMIT NOW!" he screamed.

"Ittou Ryoudan: Genmurei!" was my only response.

I slashed with all of my might, releasing two giant sonic-booms shaped like a crescent moon. They sliced the top spike in half and hit the orange sphere directly, causing it to shatter. However, this caused the two sonic-booms to disappear. I was about to run up to Weil to stab him in the face, but another spike came out of nowhere and stabbed me in the chest. I spat out blood and stopped moving. I held my Hero Sword tightly in my hand, urging myself to go forward. But I couldn't do anything with this spike stuck in my chest.

Ten seconds left...

"I WIN! GOODBYE EARTH!" Weil roared. He had clearly lost his mind.

All it took was one more effort. If only I could extend my attack. Damn, why didn't I practice that Incarnation skill?

_Shippuuga. Use it._

"Sh...Shippuuga!" I choked out.

A red shadow flew out of me and dashed to Weil with blinding speed. It performed a large, twirling slash with a pink blade and sliced Weil's head off, causing a large amount of blood to pool out and the remainder of the Ragnarok core to explode.

I pulled the spike out of me with tremendous effort and tried to get away, but I was caught in the explosion. I was engulfed in a fiery explosion that burned my skin and boiled my blood. My sight was replaced by a white, hot light.

_Am I going to die here? I guess it'd be a pretty noble death... _I thought to mostly myself. I heard his voice to tell me to use Shippuuga, but I wasn't sure if he was actually there.

When I received no answer, I believed that either Zero had disappeared or that my Brain Burst was already uninstalling itself. After all, he had finished his mission, right? He was made to fight X and the others, but was recently modified to disappear after defeating Weil.

_Hey, if I'm still thinking to myself, that means I'm still alive, right? I'll just keep thinking to myself then, to ensure that I'm alive... _

That's right...

Talk... to... my...

...

* * *

When I came to, I was on the surface of the Earth with pieces of rubble around me. The sun was high in the sky, shining down into my eyes. I was sure I was dead and I became a ghost. I glanced at my left hand and noticed that I was still the Red Hero. Did that mean that Weil was still alive? If my Brain Burst wasn't gone, then that meant Weil was still alive.

I tried to get up but then found that I couldn't move my body. I couldn't even lift a finger. I slowly turned my head left and right, looking at where I was. I don't think I was in a desert, since I was surrounded by sand. The night sky loomed above me with the moon shining and other pieces of Ragnarok melting in the sky. How long has it been since I stopped Weil? Was it minutes ago? Hours? Days?

I was propped up beside a large rock. At least, I thought it was a rock. Either that or it was a part of Ragnarok. I also noticed that my helmet was gone, leaving my real hair slowly swinging with the breeze.

Was I going to die here, in a desert with nobody around? I couldn't even say goodbye to Sachiko? I chuckled but grimaced in pain instantly. I guess I couldn't do anything but sit here and die.

After a few minutes, my breathing went from deep breaths to short and painful fast ones.

_This is the end, huh. _

I remembered defeating White Cosmos weeks ago. After taking all the points away from an opponent, there was a chance that the victor received whatever was left in their inventory. I wondered if she had anything useful. If she had the Disaster Armor, could I use that to save myself? Come to think of it, I never asked Sachiko or anyone else what that was. Perhaps if I make it back I'll ask...

I struggled to lift up my left arm. I needed to do it. I had to check if I gained anything from anyone I've defeated so far. I hit the Brain Burst application on my HUD, which was distorted. Through the distorted screens, I pressed the inventory option with effort. There were two items on that list, but I couldn't read them. I knew for a fact that one was my coat, but which one was it? I pressed the first one and equipped it. A red coat shimmered onto my body afterwards. Looks like that was my coat.

I pressed the second one and equipped it as well. Was living worth becoming the next Chrome Disaster? But wait, the real world and Accelerated World was still overlapped! Oh no! I made the biggest mistake of my life!

I was prepared to be taken over by the Armor, but instead, I felt a warm light. I shifted my gaze up and noticed a gentle light above me. It wasn't the sun, but rather, something else entirely.

"Dark... Elf?" I gasped. "No... You're... something else..."

The last thing I felt was a warm light envelop my entire body. It felt really good.

_Is this what death feels like? _

My vision then faded to white.

* * *

After leaving Ragnarok behind, I couldn't help but scream his name while pounding on the sealed door behind the control room. Why did I leave him behind? I should have stayed with him! We were supposed to be together forever!

"Black Lotus-san, please quiet down," Cyan Pile said.

"Why did we leave him behind?! I thought we were a team!" I yelled.

"It's alright. He'll defeat Weil and then we'll pick him up after he's done," Ciel calmly said.

"We have to go back now, then!"

"No. We can't do that."

"Why?!" I screamed.

"In case... In case he doesn't do it," she said quietly.

"He _will _do it! I believe in him!"

"I know you do. But there's always a chance that he might not make it."

"Let's go back slowly from here," Fuuko said gently. "I'm sure he could have defeated Weil by now, considering his fighting abilities."

Ciel nodded in response and turned the ship around. She slowly accelerated back towards Ragnarok and we all peered through the giant window. We saw the Red Hero fighting the disgusting and monstrous final form of Dr. Weil still. How much time was left? I checked the timer and noticed that there was one minute left.

We all stared intently at the tiny figure fighting. We didn't exactly know what was happening, but he was fighting. Second after second ticked by, causing me to become the most anxious person on board.

At the thirty second mark, we saw Lan get stabbed by a spike. He stopped moving, probably indicating that he was... that he was...

"D-Dead...?" I murmured.

Ciel sighed deeply and turned the ship back. I screamed and sliced the sealed door open and ran through the corridors of the airship. I heard footsteps behind me, but didn't stop as I raced to the end of the ship.

"Saa-chan!" Fuuko cried.

I sliced open the back part of the ship and was about to jump out, but then Fuuko grabbed a hold of me and restrained me. I thought about slicing off her arms, but then realized that she was going to experience more pain compared to the Unlimited Field. Not to mention that her arms won't grow back at all this time around. I couldn't do that to her, so I fell limp and stared at the space station flying towards Earth.

"Mission... failed," I said sadly. The Earth was done for.

Before I could head back and think more depressing thoughts, Ragnarok suddenly exploded. In response, Fuuko pulled me back to the control room as I tried to squirm free. I had to save Lan!

"Hold still, Saa-chan," Fuuko said quietly.

"But...But...!" I choked out. Tears were flowing out of my eyes, but nobody could see it. I was still in my Black Lotus form, unable to do anything to save the person I fell in love with.

The Grand Nuage accelerated and entered the Earth's atmosphere. Even though it burned up, the interior's temperature didn't rise, nor did the exterior melt. Before I knew it, we were back in Tokyo, staring up at the night sky. Fuuko finally let go of me and I dropped to the floor, sobbing. It was over. Earth was saved, but Lan was...

Dead.

Was this the feeling he felt when I saved him from the car? This utter hopelessness and despair? I silently apologized to him for making him go through so much pain.

The Grand Nuage disappeared and we all fell to the ground with a thump. To revert back to our normal selves, we just had to say the command, 'Burst Link', one more time.

"Burst Link," we all said halfheartedly.

Now everyone could see the tears that poured out of my eyes. I couldn't stop them no matter how hard I tried. I stared at the sky through unclear eyes and saw pieces of Ragnarok fall and disappear like shooting stars.

"It's beautiful," Fuuko breathed.

"Y-Y-Yeah..." I sobbed.

"Thank you, Lan, for saving the Earth. We will not let your sacrifice go in vain," Ciel whispered while clapping her hands together, as if in a prayer.

"Thank you," the others mumbled.

"H-He's... still out th-there somewhere..." I choked out.

"Saa-chan..."

"Unf... unf... Aaaaahhhh!" I cried.

I cried like a child for a very long time.

_Goodbye Lan. I love you._


	33. Final Chapter - Conclusion

I slept that night with the help of Fuuko comforting me in another hospital. Because the one I was previously in got destroyed by Ragnarok, I had to be moved to a different one that was a bit further away. I was restless, unable to accept that Lan was gone forever. I accelerated to see if I could change back into Black Lotus a few times, but in the end, it was back to normal. Red Hero was also exempt from the matching list, which only meant one thing.

He was really gone.

While I remained in the hospital, Fuuko was out searching for any traces of Lan. She didn't find anything except for pieces of Ragnarok that didn't dissolve upon entering the Earth's atmosphere. However, one day, she found something along the shores of country near Tokyo. I couldn't believe that she would travel outside of Suginami just to find traces of Lan.

She took a picture and sent it to me via Neuro Linker. I opened it up and saw a beautiful yet tragic scene. The thing that stood out the most was the tattered and ruined helmet of Red Hero that was buried in the sands. Other than that, there were no traces of Lan anywhere else. I saved this image and thanked Fuuko.

As the days went by, I slowly began to give in to Lan's death. As my family came in to visit me in the passing days, I described to them the most wonderful person I had ever met. I also revealed the secret I've been hiding for all these years, which was the Brain Burst application. Before he received this program, he was a somewhat shy boy unsure of his true potential as an individual. It was me who showed him the path to becoming stronger. But at the same time, he showed me the path to becoming a better human being. We learned a lot from each other during the months we spent together.

"He was a fine boy," my mother said, running her hand through my hair.

"Yeah. I really liked him. I'll miss him," my father said, staring out the window.

"I'm sorry," my sister apologized.

"You don't need to be sorry for anything," I said quietly.

"I feel like I somehow contributed to his death!"

She kind of did. She was the one who created Omega with Weil, after all. Not only that, but she nearly killed Lan and me as well. The past me would have yelled at her and told her that everything was her fault. But now...

"The past is past. We all have to look forward and move on," I said with a small smile.

"Will you move on from loving Lan?" my father asked.

"I don't know. We'll see," I answered after a short pause.

Weeks went by and I was finally discharged from the hospital. I caught up with all the schoolwork thanks to Megumi, but I missed the ceremony for honoring the students who passed away during the Ragnarok incident. There was a large stone that had their names engraved on it that sat in the courtyard of the school. I walked up to it and stared at it, looking for Lan's name. Come to think of it, he never told me his last name, so wouldn't it be impossible to find him?

After fifteen minutes of searching, I couldn't find his name. They couldn't have forgotten, could they? I turned around angrily and was about to storm into the school until I saw a green-eyed student walking this way with flowers in his hand.

_It can't be... _

I stared at him as he slowly walked towards me with a smile on his face.

_I must be dreaming._

"Kuroyukihime," he said in his usual and cheerful tone.

My eyes were wide in astonishment. I reached out with my hands and touched his face. He felt real and felt like a human. I put my hand where his heart would be and felt his thumping heartbeat. He felt alive and warm.

"Lan...?" I whispered.

"Did you lose your memory of me or something? Or do is my appearance different compared to my normal self?" he chuckled.

"Lan!" I cried, hugging him. Tears began to form in my eyes again.

"Ahh... Hey. Sorry," he said, embracing me back.

"Y-You... You idiot!"

"That's not a very nice thing to say to your boyfriend who came back from the dead."

"I seriously thought you were dead!" I exclaimed, tears flowing freely now.

I didn't care that I was making a scene. He was alive! That's all that mattered to me right now.

"Yeah... Sorry about that."

"How did you survive? I saw Ragnarok blow up while you were still on it!"

"I'll tell you later. I have to make peace with the deceased," he said poetically.

Yup, this was Lan and not some copy created by Ciel or something. He felt real and alive. He acted like his normal self. There was no possible way that he was a copy.

"Miyazuki... I'm sorry that you had to die in this freak accident. Forgive me," I heard him whisper.

I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder, reassuring him that it wasn't his fault. He smiled sadly at me and wiped the tears from his eyes. He set the flowers down and walked with me to our usual spot in the cafeteria lounge.

It felt like months had passed ever since I told Lan that I was going on that senior trip to Okinawa. I bet he sat here the entire week by himself because he had no one else to talk to during lunch. I smiled to myself at the thought of that, but my heart also ached. After I came back, I was hit by a car and then all this happened so fast...

"It's felt like ages, huh?" Lan asked as we sat down.

"Yeah. It's good to be back," I replied.

"Things won't be the same, though. Ciel is dedicating her time to make sure nothing like that ever happens again."

"I see. Now tell me how you're alive right now and not in a coffin."

"Direct as always, I see," he laughed.

He told me about the events following the explosion. He fell from the sky and landed in what he thought to be a desert, since there was sand. He actually landed in beaches of Okinawa, which was very fortunate. How his helmet ended up near Tokyo, he had no idea. Anyway, he was on the verge of death until he opened up his inventory and found two items, one was his coat and the other was the Dark Elf, which he believed to be the Disaster Armor because everything was all blurry.

After equipping the Dark Elf, he saw a warm light above him. He thought he was going to die right there since everything felt so warm and cozy. Then he couldn't see anything but white. However, when he came to, he was in a hospital. That was the main reason why he couldn't tell anyone he was alive. Not only that, but his Neuro Linker was badly damaged, so he couldn't do much anyway. He came back yesterday, even though he was quite healthy when he entered the hospital.

"Well, that covers how I'm alive and well," he finished.

"And... your Brain Burst?" I hesitantly asked.

"Still here."

"But how? I looked through the matching list multiple times every day and couldn't find a single 'Red Hero' anywhere."

"Red Hero no longer exists. I had a nightmare the night after I was recovered. It was exactly the same as my first nightmare."

"So, what's the name of your duel avatar now?"

"Cobalt Warrior. My duel avatar looks exactly the same as before, except he's blue now and within the laws of Brain Burst."

"Ahh. That's reassuring."

"Yup. I'm just bummed out I can never use my Hero Gun and Shield Boomerang ever again. I'm also back to level 1, but that's not too big of a problem..."

"Nope. Not at all. It'll be fun seeing you level up to 9 again!" I laughed.

"I wonder how long that's gonna take..." he pouted.

"Anyway, what about Ciel and the others?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Like I said before, Ciel is making sure nothing like that happens again. X and the Four Guardians are no longer Burst Linkers, but have retained their memories of the Accelerated World. They are now living normal lives."

"Looks like everything turned out fine in the end!"

"Yeah. Except that I'm not level 9 anymore."

The bell rung, indicating that classes were going to start soon. Lan and I said our farewells and we parted ways for the meantime.

* * *

After school, Sachiko and I made sure the other Nega Nebulous members were informed that I was alive and well. Obviously surprised, Fuuko came running over to us in the real world and began to cry like Sachiko when she first saw that I was alive. Well, they were best friends for a reason. I told Fuuko the same thing I told Sachiko on how I survived and what happened to Ciel and the others.

"So your duel avatar specializes in only close quarters combat now?" she asked.

"Yeah, but he still looks like the original Red Hero. Can I just be called Blue Hero?" I joked.

"I think everyone will still call you Hero-san even though you're now Warrior-san," Sachiko laughed.

What she said was actually quite accurate. Even though my name changed, familiar faces like Ash Roller continued to call me Hero-san or Blue Hero. News of the reincarnation of the Red Hero quickly spread throughout the Accelerated World and I was soon overwhelmed by challenges from people who wanted to redeem themselves, mainly the blue duel avatars. Beating them was still easy, but I didn't have a Hero Gun or a Shield Boomerang to trip them up with. I did, however, still have my Hero Sword and my Recoil Rod.

Though the physical appearance of Blue Hero still bothered me. Why was it that I continued to look like Zero even though he didn't exist anymore? I asked Ciel this after the day I was discharged from the hospital and she explained it all nicely. We hung out in the bookstore where we first met just to make meeting up easier.

"Zero still exists. So does X and the Four Guardians. They're just asleep now, sealed away in their respective owners' Neuro Linkers. When they're needed again, which I hope is never, I'll wake all of them up," she explained.

"Ahh. I see," I said, thinking hard. "That still doesn't explain why I still look like the original Zero."

"His 'soul', per se, that resided in your Neuro Linker probably had a large effect on you. You talked to him quite a bit, right?"

"Yeah. He was my friend."

"That answers it. You felt connected to him. That connection was strong enough for your Brain Burst program to keep the shape of Zero while modifying his capabilities."

"That explains it. Thanks a bunch, Ciel," I smiled. "I hope that when we see each other again, it won't be the end of the world."

"I'll make sure of that!" she laughed.

We waved goodbye and went our separate ways. What Ciel said made a lot of sense, to be honest. If my heart's desire was to keep the bonds with my friends alive, then I guess Brain Burst would pick that up and use Zero's body again. I'll miss that voice in my head.

I walked over to the Kirigaya's and slept over for the night. Sachiko and I planned on catching up on our schoolwork together, even though our classes were quite different. I had more of her mother's delicious sandwiches for dinner and socialized with the family for a bit. Although I would have to eventually confront my own family about getting closer together, I figured I could enjoy my time with Sachiko's.

I slept in Sachiko's room, which sort of worried her parents, even though I already proved that I was a pretty cool guy. I guess you can't always trust your daughter alone in a room with a male, even if he's her boyfriend.

"Don't do anything crazy, you two," Kazuto said before closing the door.

"Don't worry, father. I'll make sure he doesn't do anything," Sachiko said, smiling slyly.

"I'll try to keep it in," I joked.

Kazuto laughed and closed the door, bidding us good night. I lied down on the floor and stared at the ceiling for a few moments, unsure if I should get in the same bed as her or not.

"I won't bite, you know," she said quietly.

I sighed and rolled into bed with her. It was smaller than I expected, so our bodies were very close together. I could feel my face burning, so I decided to go back to the floor.

"Oh no you don't!" she said as she embraced me. She had a firm grip and I couldn't move away!

"B-B-But this is so... embarrassing!" I groaned.

"It's alright."

I sighed again and rested easy. I guess there was no other way out of here. I turned my body so that I was on my back, my eyes staring at the ceiling again.

_So this is going to be a normal life now, huh. _I thought to myself.

Sachiko's hand found its way to my chest and her body moved closer to me. Her head rested near mine and I felt her breathing on my neck. It was comforting, but it also made my heart beat fast.

"Good night," I said quietly.

"Mmm," she replied, already half-asleep. "I love you."

"I love you too," I chuckled.

As Leviathan had stated, everything worked out in the end. Weil was no more, the Accelerated World and the real world were separate once again, the anomaly that was caused by me was fixed, and I made a lot of friends. Although I was sure that new villains would pop up eventually and the team would have to get back together again, we had peace and quiet (for Burst Linkers) for now.

_-End_

(And that concludes the story. To be honest, I didn't plan to have all these characters from MMZ in here. Originally, the antagonists were Dusk Taker, Omega, then White Cosmos in that order. I took Dusk Taker out because it was too much like the LN/anime and you don't want to read that twice. This story also started off as something I wrote in my spare time on Google Docs, so that's why the chapters came out so fast.

I have to thank theUnbreakableSky for helping me out with the Accel World portion of this fic. He's a really cool guy and has written some pretty good fics about Accel World, so please check him out.

I'm working on a sequel right now since this ending kind of sets itself up for a sequel. Of course, it will be another AW x MM fanfic and will probably include MMZX characters/events because MMZ's are over.

I'll update this story from time to time if I feel like some things should be changed or fixed.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it too.)


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